Subverting Patriarchy: Women’s Resistance And Identity Formation In The Fiction Of Shashi Deshpande And Manju Kapur

Abstract

Feminist literature has long served as a means of resistance against patriarchal structures, providing women with a platform to express their struggles, assert their identities, and challenge societal norms. Shashi Deshpande and Manju Kapur are two prominent Indian writers whose works critically engage with the themes of gender oppression, female autonomy, and the conflict between tradition and modernity. Their narratives depict the psychological depth of female protagonists who navigate familial and societal constraints, ultimately striving for independence and self-realization. Deshpande’s That Long Silence (1988) and The Binding Vine (1993) focus on the internalized struggles of women within patriarchal setups, while Kapur’s Difficult Daughters (1998) and A Married Woman (2002) emphasize overt rebellion against traditional constraints, particularly in terms of education, marriage, and sexuality. Through the use of narrative techniques such as first-person introspection, symbolism, and memory reconstruction, these authors contribute significantly to contemporary feminist discourse. This study explores how their works represent marginalized women’s experiences, critique class and caste structures, and align with feminist ideologies in literature. Additionally, it discusses how their contributions shape ongoing debates in feminist literary studies, with particular attention to intersectionality, postcolonial perspectives, and the evolving role of feminist narratives in digital media. The study concludes by identifying future research directions that can further expand the feminist discourse in literature.