Quest for Self-Identity in Shashi Deshpande's That Long Silence and The Dark Holds No Terrors

Abstract

The theme of quest for self-identity of women, when dealt by women writers, is pondered upon and reflected acutely in terms of the inner conflicts that rage in the psyche of women in a society steeped in patriarchal values. Shashi Deshpande's novels appeal to the readers for their rootedness in everyday Indian lives. Family relationships have always fascinated the novelist and she draws her brush to present these domestic ties on her canvas to bring about characters that leave a lasting impact, by sketching their suppressed desires and the havoc within them. It requires no plenitude of imagination to find a parallel between these architectural constructs and the conscious force which subdues and controls a cluster of people within the limits of certain expected norms and patterns of culture. The present paper is an endeavor to highlight this inner turmoil and quest for self in the women characters of Shashi Deshpande in her two remarkable novels, That Long Silence and The Dark Holds No Terrors. It will discuss how the images of ‘ancestral homes’ and the characters residing in them define themselves within its archives. The paper will also discuss the realization of women characters to break their silences – articulate their predicament and establish their identities.