A Companion to Indian Fiction in English

A Companion to Indian Fiction in English

Author: Pier Paolo Piciucco

Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Dist

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 9788126903108

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After The Pioneer Works By Scholars Such As Naik, Narasimhaiah And Mukherjee, And The Thirty Years Of Silence Which Followed Their Ground-Breaking Achievements, The Companion Appears On The Scene Striving To Reinvigorate The Tradition Of Panoramic Studies Of Indian Literature In English. In The Intervening Period, Indian Fiction In English Has Become Of Paramount Importance In The Wide Context Of Postcolonial Studies: An Emergent Crop Of Novelists Belonging To The So-Called New Generation Has Colourfully Paved The Way Towards New Artistic Horizons, Re-Interpreting Western-Derived Literary Models With Inventive Approaches. Complementary To Their Role There Is The Articulate Presence Of A Host Of Indian Scholars Who In Recent Years Have Significantly Influenced The Course Of This Analysis And Have Vitally Contributed To Enlarging Its Scope Well Beyond The Original Boundaries Of Studies In Literary Criticism.The Companion, Therefore, Addresses The Exigencies Of Critics, Teachers And Students Alike All Those Who Need To Find Quick Points Of Reference In This Wide Field Of Studies By Relying On A Team Of Authoritative Collaborators And Specialists From All Over The World. Great Care Was Taken Not Only In Selecting Collaborators On The Basis Of Their Specialisation But Also Taking Into Account Their Cultural Background In Relation To The Author They Were To Discuss. The Book In Fact Has Been Organised To Have What Have Been Deemed To Be The Most Representative Authors In Indian Fiction Discussed In An Essay-Long Chapter Each, Structured To Highlight Crucial Points Such As Biographical Details, Novels And Critical Reception. Each Chapter Includes A Final Bibliography Complete With Primary And Secondary Sources, Enabling The Scholar To Have Immediate Orientation On Various Specific Topics. Finally, The Book Has An Innovative Section, With Synopses Of Novels, Planned To Allow Our Readers To Immediately Place The Authors Analysed Within The Panorama Of Indian Fiction In English. The Over 400 Synopses Included Principally Introduce Works Written By The Novelists Discussed At Length In The Previous Chapters But, Along With Them, It Is Also Possible To Find Summaries Of Works By Authors Who, Although Contributing In A Significant Way To The Development Of Forms And Techniques, Do Not Feature In The First Part.


National Identity and Cultural Representation in the Novels of Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai

National Identity and Cultural Representation in the Novels of Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai

Author: Sonali Das

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2018-04-18

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 1527509907

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This book is the first of its kind to examine the theories of nation and national identity in both the West (according to the theories of Benedict Anderson and Salman Rushdie) and in the East (in the light of the works of Jawaharlal Nehru) as they apply to the novels of Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai. The second part of the twentieth century witnessed a new interface between fiction and history called “New History”. It brought into its purview the hitherto marginalized sections of society like slaves, peasants, workers, women, and children. Whereas the subalterns in The Inheritance of Loss are disempowered by the brunt of globalisation and neo-colonialism, the subalterns in The God of Small Things face the ire of the deep-seated divisions based on caste and gender bias in a postcolonial society. In addition, this book also deals with contemporary social issues like individual identity in a multicultural world where cultures and nature converge into myriad ways of living. It will be of immense benefit to MA and MPhil students all over India, as well as to PhD scholars and teachers of English literature both in India and abroad.


In Search of a Feminist Writer

In Search of a Feminist Writer

Author: Dr. Rohidas Nitonde

Publisher: Partridge Publishing

Published: 2014-07-16

Total Pages: 149

ISBN-13: 1482833905

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In this scholarly book Dr. Rohidas Nitonde examines Manju Kapurs novels with a feminist perspective. The study offers an in depth analysis of all the five novels by Kapur. It is for the first time that all her works are illustrated with a single perspective. The focus of argument leads to conclude on Kapurs vision of Indian womanhood. The book explains Kapurs indubitable ability to explore the psyche of the present day urban, educated middle-class Indian woman who is trapped in the midway between tradition and modernity. It is an attempt to study Kapurs women protagonists, as portrayed by her in her novels, with a view to understand and appreciate their trials and tribulations under the impact of the conflicting influence of tradition and modernity and to critically analyze their response to the emerging situation in life so as to fit themselves in the contemporary society. It also probes deeply into the novelists conviction of what would serve as the ideal panacea for the different kinds of challenges faced by her female characters. It as well explores both the daring and desires of the Indian women in the fictional works of Kapur. The study is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter is introductory in nature. The subsequent five chapters deal with the five women protagonists Virmati, Astha, Nisha, Nina and Ishita who, finding themselves trapped in the roles assigned to them by the society, attempt to assert their individuality. Sensitive to the changing times and situations, they revolt against the traditions in their search for freedom. The last chapter concludes the study by bringing out the general statement about Kapurs female protagonists. Its Bibliography and Webliography sections are exhaustive. This has turned the authoritative work into an indispensable resource for academicians and research scholars. It is an invaluable reference on Manju Kapur.


New Woman in Indian Literature: From Covert to Overt

New Woman in Indian Literature: From Covert to Overt

Author: Dipak Giri

Publisher: Vishwabharati Research Centre, Latur, Maharashtra, India

Published: 2018-01-01

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 9387966747

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Since there was hardly any book written on the concept of ‘New Woman’ compiling the works of Indian English writers, the author had long-felt desire to bring out a compact volume in this field. The present volume is like a dream come true as it prepares the solid ground for the long-cherished desire of the author. The book New Woman in Indian English Literature: From Covert to Overt is an attempt to combining the varied shapes of new emerging trend of womanhood in Indian English Literature into a single whole. The book covers twenty six well explored articles on this recent trend of writing which has been fast growing since last few decades. The contributing authors are very deep, sincere and reflective in the articulation of their original ideas and views. Authors are hopeful that the book will bring into focus many new things and ideas yet to be explored and thus will be useful to critical minds.


Tradition and Modernity. Changing the Images of Women in Selected Fiction by Manju Kapur and Anita Nair

Tradition and Modernity. Changing the Images of Women in Selected Fiction by Manju Kapur and Anita Nair

Author: Sasikala Alagiri

Publisher: Anchor Academic Publishing

Published: 2017-11-21

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 396067709X

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Along with a range of socio-cultural, political and economic concerns, the focus on ‘self’ has been an inevitable assertion of writers during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Individualistic in tone, the contemporary women novelists are trying to portray realistically the predicament of modern women torn between the forces of tradition and modernity, their sense of frustration and alienation, the emotional and psychological turmoil and complexities of man-women relationships and subtleties of feminine consciousness against the persistent patriarchal social set-up. Cognizant of the evils originating from patriarchy, a positive sense of feminine identity has been recognized by them and the result is the emergence of a new woman in Indian society and its concept in the Indian English novel which has assumed a strident posture in the contemporary writings by women. The shift from submission to assertion, acquiescence to resistance and obedience to rebellion, however, has not been abrupt and effortless. Women are still in the process of negotiation with different limiting factors and thresholds of patriarchy to claim their due space and affirm their identity. The present study is an attempt to critically investigate the negotiations with cultural norms by the women characters in the selected novels by the contemporary novelists, namely Manju Kapur and Anita Nair. Almost all the women characters, major and minor, from the selected novels have been considered and positioned as per their ideological leanings and convictions under two thematic chapters namely “Women in the Clutches of Traditional Norms,” and “Tradition to Modernity.” The major issues around which the novels move – education, marriage, gendered space and mother-daughter relationships – are taken up to put them within the contemporary social conditions in which women characters live. The present book is divided into five chapters to make a critical and analytical study of the select novels of these contemporary Indian women writers in English. The present work is focused on five selected novels: Manju Kapur’s “Difficult Daughters”, “Home” and “Custody” and Anita Nair’s “Ladies Coupé” and “Mistress”.


Image of Woman in the Novels of Shashi Deshpande

Image of Woman in the Novels of Shashi Deshpande

Author: Dr. Varsha P. Zanwar

Publisher: RUT Printer and Publisher

Published: 2014-12-27

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 9384663050

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Though not an avowed feminist, Shashi Deshpande occupies a significant place among the contemporary women novelists who concern themselves with the problems of women and their quest for identity. Her creative talent and accomplishment have established her credentials as a worthy successor and contemporary to the Indian English writers such as Desai, Shobha De, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Bharati Mukherjee etc. In this book, two novels by Shashi Deshpande – 1. The Dark Holds No Terrors. 2. That Long Silence are studied in detail for the sake to find image of woman in both the novels. Shashi Deshpande's novel "The Dark Holds No Terrors", seeks to discuss the male ego which refuses to accept a secondary position in marriage. The novel narrated the harrowing experiences of the protagonist 'Sarita', who enjoys a greater economic and social status than her husband Manohar. Deshpande also makes the readers aware of society's reaction to the superior status of the wife in a marriage, which leads the husband to develop an inferiority complex. The novel also seeks to discuss the blatant gender discrimination which is shown even by parents towards their daughters. Deshpande effectively conveys the craving by parents for a male child and the disastrous effect it can have on a sensitive going girl. Denied of parental love and victim of her husband's frustrations, 'Sarita' undergoes an arduous journey into herself and liberates herself from guilt, shame and humiliation to emerge in full control over her life. Shashi Deshpande's novel, "That Long Silence", brought her into limelight as it was rewarded by the prestigious "Sahitya Academy Award". The novel deals with the protagonist Jaya's passage through a mare of self doubts and fears towards the affirmation of herself. A crisis in the middle-class family of the protagonist triggers off a chain of events which compel her to view her life in retrospection. What follows is an honest and frank account of Jaya's life. In her anxiety to play the role of wife and mother to perfection. Jaya realizes that she does not do justice to her talents as a writer. Her constant fear of displeasing her husband and inviting the censure of society, not only make her give up writing but also discourage her from acknowledging her friendship with a man who is not her husband, brother or father. The novel focuses Jaya as a representative of the modern young woman - educated and aware - nevertheless unable to break free from the strangle - hold of tradition. In the process of telling her story, she offers us a glimpse into the lives of ostensibly content housewives who are nevertheless suppressed under the weight of male dominance. Thus this book helps to find out image of woman in these novels. I record my gratefulness to the principal of J.E.S. College, Jalna- Dr. R. S. Agrawal, Head of the Department of English- M.A. Sami Siddiqui for support and encouragement at every stage of my work. I also offer my sincere thanks to the senior teachers of my Department for their valuable suggestions. I feel deeply to put into words my sense of thankfulness to my family.