ABSTRACT: This study explores the construction and negotiation of female identity in the selected novels of Manju Kapur and Shashi Deshpande through a feminist critical framework. Both writers, prominent voices in contemporary Indian English literature, foreground women’s experiences within patriarchal social structures and examine the complex intersections of gender, marriage, family, tradition, and modernity. The research analyzes how their female protagonists struggle to assert individuality and autonomy while confronting cultural expectations and internalized norms. In novels such as Difficult Daughters and Custody by Manju Kapur, and That Long Silence and The Dark Holds No Terrors by Shashi Deshpande, women characters are depicted negotiating identity crises shaped by domestic roles, emotional suppression, and societal pressures. Drawing upon feminist theories of identity, agency, and resistance, the study highlights how both authors portray female subjectivity as dynamic and evolving rather than fixed. While Kapur often situates her narratives within broader socio-political transitions, Deshpande delves deeply into the psychological dimensions of women’s inner conflicts.
KEYWORDS: Feminism, Female Identity, Patriarchy, Gender Roles, Autonomy, Marriage, Indian English Fiction, Manju Kapur, Shashi Deshpande, Women’s Empowerment.
A FEMINIST STUDY OF FEMALE IDENTITY IN THE SELECTED NOVELS OF MANJU KAPUR AND SHASHI DESHPANDE
KARINA SHARMA, DR. ANSHU SHARMA