ABSTRACT:The present study examines the representation of women’s identity and self-realization in the selected novels of Manju Kapur and Shashi Deshpande, two prominent Indian English novelists whose works critically engage with women’s experiences, gender relations, family structures, and social conventions. Through their narratives, both writers portray women’s struggles to establish independent identities in a patriarchal society that often restricts their freedom, choices, and personal development. Manju Kapur’s novels, including Difficult Daughters, A Married Woman, and Home, explore women’s search for identity within the contexts of marriage, motherhood, family responsibilities, education, and social change. Her female characters frequently experience tensions between personal desires and socially prescribed roles. Similarly, Shashi Deshpande’s novels, such as That Long Silence, The Dark Holds No Terrors, and Roots and Shadows, examine the psychological and emotional dimensions of women’s lives, emphasizing their internal conflicts, suppressed aspirations, and gradual movement towards self-awareness. Her protagonists question established gender norms and seek to redefine themselves beyond the identities imposed by family and society.
KEYWORDS: Women’s Identity, Self-Realization, Manju Kapur, Shashi Deshpande, Indian English Literature, Patriarchy, Female Consciousness, Women’s Empowerment.
REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN’S IDENTITY AND SELF-REALIZATION IN THE SELECTED NOVELS OF MANJU KAPUR AND SHASHI DESHPANDE
KARINA SHARMA, DR. ANSHU SHARMA