LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 18:7 July 2018
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
         Dr. S. Chelliah, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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The Unpredictability of Woman Psyche in Shashi Deshpande’s
In the Country of Deceit

Y. Kusuma Kumari, M.A., M.Phil., Research Scholar


Abstract

Shashi Deshpande’s feminism appears to be a natural kind of feminism that it is not based on theory. She writes about the web of family relationships, particularly those in extended family set-ups. The kaleidoscopic variety of characters is amazing. Deshpande never seems to have lost her hold on her characters, male or female ones -- the author devotes much larger space for the delineation of her women characters. The variety is infinite, and each character has its uniqueness. Deshpande’s unflinching gaze tracks the suffering, evasions and lies that overtake those caught in the web of subterfuge. There are no hostages taken in the country of deceit; no victors; only scarred lives. This understated yet compassionate examination of the nature of love, loyalty and deception establishes yet again Deshpande’s position as one of India’s most formidable writers of fiction. The book revolves around the tumultuous twist given to the life of the protagonist, Devayani, as she breaks all set norms in the pursuit of happiness. There is something that prompts her pursuit for happiness, even if it is in the form of an ‘illicit’ relationship with a married IPS officer, Ashok Chinappa. This paper is a modest attempt to bring out the unpredictability of a woman’s psyche with special reference to Devayani’s character in the novel, In the Country of Deceit.

Keywords: Shashi Deshpande, In the Country of Deceit, family, suffering, guilty, subterfuge, narcissistic.

Shashi Deshpande

Although she was initially reluctant to be labeled as a feminist, towards her mid-career as a novelist she realizes that she is a fervent feminist but with a difference. Her novels may be described as a kind of education for women to enlighten themselves and be independent economically. Her protagonists are middle-class educated career women; in a sense, she champions the cause of women’s upliftment. Shashi Deshpande’s feminism appears to be a natural kind of feminism that it is not based on theory. She writes about the web of family relationships, particularly those in extended family set-ups. The kaleidoscopic variety of characters is amazing. Deshpande never seems to have lost her hold on her characters, male or female ones -- the author devotes much larger space for the delineation of her women characters. The variety is infinite, and each character has its uniqueness. Deshpande's heroines find a voice of their own and their initial will to move on is counteracted upon by their passivity to patriarchal construction of space for women. In embracing this space, they adhere to the feminine aesthetics. Malashri Lal opines that,

This space is operative for the woman who has made the irretrievable choice in her one directional journey. She has accepted the challenge of gender determined environment designed for the promotion and prosperity of men and must contend with prejudices against her attempts to appropriate her own space in the name of personal dignity and social justice (Lal-19).

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Y. Kusuma Kumari, M.A., M.Phil.
Research Scholar
Department of English
Andhra University
Visakhapatnam-530003
Kusumsurendrat.bw@gmail.com

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