1. International Indexed & Referred Research Journal, April, 2012. ISSN- 0974-2832, RNI-RAJBIL 2009/29954; VoL. IV * ISSUE-39
Research Paper - English
Feministic Issues in Shashi Despande's
'That Long Silence'
* Satdev Verma ** Krishan Lal April , 2012
* Assistant Professor of English, Ladwa College of Education, Ladwa, Kurukshetra, Haryana
** Assistant Professor of English, C.R.M. Jat College, Hisar, Haryana.
A B S T R A C T
Shashi Despande occupies a coveted place in the annals of contemporary women novelists, who concern themselves with
the problems of women and their quest for identity. Most of her women characters are able to transcend their identity crisis
by analyzing their childhood and the process of upbringing. She explores conflict between the tradition and modernity in
relation to women in the middle class society. Shashi Despande's remarkable achievement That Long Silence is an
expression of the silence of modern Indian middle class house wife. Most of the writers turned women into non-entities and
created unreal sentimental romances and finally succumbed to the temptation of feminist ideology. But with the help of
That Long Silence Shashi Deshpande got success in her representation of real life experiences.
Introduction …In every age woman has been seen primarily as
Women writers of Indian English fiction have mother, wife, mistress and a sex object-their role in
significantly contributed to enrich contemporary In- relation to man. In the "Second Sex" Simone de
dian English fiction. Eminent Feminist critics and writ- Beauvior presents the definition of woman's identity.
ers like Kate Miller, Simone de Beauvoir, Toril Moi, She believes that it is formulation by European
Taslima Nasrin, Anita Desai, Virginia Woolf, Elaine tradition.…Humanity is male and man defines woman
Showalter and Shashi Despande etc. have made a re- not in herself, but as relative to him, she is not regarded
markable contribution to the literature of feminism. as an autonomous being…for him she is sex, absolute
Shashi Despande is also one of the remarkable figures sex, no less… He is… the absolute…she is the other.
in Indian English Literature, who used a realistic ap- Woman is seen only as a sexual entity and this limits the
proach to unravel various issues related to socio-eco- position of woman. One critic remarks: Women have
nomic condition of women in India. Shashi Despande gained only what Men have been willing to grant, they
was conferred with Sahitya Akademi Award for That have taken nothing, they have only received.
Long Silence in 1990 and Padam Shri Award in the year Shashi Despande's That Long Silence explores
of 2009. conflict between tradition and modernity in relation to
Feminism has become in literary creation, a women in the middle class society. Her depiction of
recognized genre and in literary criticism, a recognized women world is authentic, realistic and credible. Most
discipline. The main concern of feminism envisages of the writers treated women as non-entities and cre-
seeking emancipation of women from the male domi- ated unreal sentimental romances and finally suc-
nance in the patriarchal society. In a male dominant cumbed to the temptation of feminist ideology. Here,
society, woman is supposed to be an ideal wife, a mother Ellen Showalter in Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness
and an excellent home maker with multifarious role in says that "the feminist approach is to be more effective,
family-folds. Service, sacrifice, submissiveness and it must be more structured to compete with the anti-
tolerance are her required attributes. Excessive endur- feminist approach".
ance and series of adjustments make her an adaptable But with the help of That Long Silence Shashi
cog in the family. Her individual self has very little Deshpande got success in her representation of real
recognition in the patriarchal society. In the context of life experience. She realistically depicts the inner con-
above paragraph, Manusmrit was the earliest dealt flict through her major character i.e. Jaya who suffered
with the social philosophy to perpetuate a dependent from the first to last craving for the quest of the self and
role for women. Day and night women must be kept in identity. Jaya realized the frustration, alienation and
dependence by the male of their families… her father overall emotional trauma, she had undergone with
protects her in her childhood; her husband protects in several of her adolescent dreams being irretrievably
her youth and her son protects her in old age; A women shattered. Initially, after her marriage, she is apparently
is never fit for independence! (Manu 9/3) a satisfied house wife married to a responsible man of
In the words of Mary and Ferguson, social status. For some time all went well and Jaya
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2. International Indexed & Referred Research Journal, April, 2012. ISSN- 0974-2832, RNI-RAJBIL 2009/29954; VoL. IV * ISSUE-39
adjusted herself in new environment according to the communication and companionship. The novel traces
wishes of her husband. She had absorbed herself in the how Jaya gradually emerges as a confident individual
family-folds completely and was no more aggressive fully in control of herself and refuses to be led by
and inquisitive but now, she was a docile, meek, pas- noose. The protagonist of the novel rejects the image
sive, nervous and dependent upon her husband for of traditional women like Sita, Savitri and Draupadi and
sustenance and existence. Mohan was a man of ortho- instead prefers the image of a pair of the bullock to
dox view and he gave her not much freedom. In the describe a married couple. Jaya says:
novel, there lies the smell of frustration in married life No, what have I to do with these mythical
of the protagonist, who failed to be closer to her hus- women? I can't fool myself, the truth is similar.
band mentally and emotionally. Despite her marriage to A stereotyped house wife initially nervous and seeking
Mohan, she suffered from isolation and subsequently masculine support all the time and understands that
becoming a mother of two children. Her husband could she also has contributed to her victimization and that
not understand her emotional self. Jaya leads the life of she has to fight her own battle and work out her own
silent indignation over the rough and irascible attitude destiny. It also shows how with this new confidence
of her husband towards her. He is always finding fault Jaya becomes emancipated without rejecting outrightly
with her accusing of being indifferent to him in that the cultural and social background. Jaya gives the new
hours of crisis. She felt desperate and disappointment image to the Indian woman who now tries to stand on
in the 17 years of her old martial life that began to tease her legs and seeks to break the age old silence by
her. She suffered a lot of traumatic spell when Mohan, refusing to dance to the tune of her husband. With Jaya
in a fit of anger left her. Shashi Deshpande uses an the assertion of life that 'Long Silence' is threatened to
appropriate image of a crawling worm into the hole, to be broken with her decision to "Plug the whole in the
describe the state of Jaya, a budding writer, doomed to heart".
dwindle into a stereotyped Indian house wife: The novelist has unleashed a scathing blow
Oh God! I had thought I can't take any more, even a to the patriarchal set up and ushered a novel chapter
worm has a hole it can crawl into. of women liberation in any sphere of life. It has been
It is obvious that husband and wife drifting vehemently emphasized that it is not the circumstances
far apart due to a loveless marriage life have been that contribute to the negation of women right but has
crushed as her marriage is based on compromise rather also highlighted the fact that even their own women
than on affection and understanding in which Mohan folk are polarizing their dig at the emancipation of
assumes the image of "a sheltering tree", while Jaya women. The novel seeks to probe deeper those subal-
mostly plunges into the tragic silence due to lack of tern tendencies which eat into the vital of our society.
R E F E R E N C E
1.Shashi Deshpande, 'That Long Silence', Published by Penguin 4.Siddhartha Sharma, "Shashi Despande's Novel: A Feminist
Group, New Delhi, 1989. Study", published by Atlantic Publishers and Distributers, New
2.Sathupati Prasanna Sree, "Woman in the Novels of Shashi Delhi, 2005.
Despande: A Study", published by Prabat Kumar Sharma for 5.Anita Myles, "Feminism and the post-modern Indian Women
Sarup & Sons Publishers, New Delhi, 2003. Novelist in English", published by Prabat Kumar Sharma for
3.T.M.J. Indira Mohan, "Shashi Despande: A Critical Spec- Sarup & Sons Publishers, New Delhi, 2006.
trum", published by Atlantic Publishers and Distributers, New 6.Binod Mishra, "Critical Responses to Feminism", Prabat
Delhi, 2004. Kumar Sharma for Sarup & Sons Publishers, New Delhi, 2006.
SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN 19