Volume III Special Issue III March 2023

Name of Author : Vickey Prasad

Title of the paper : The Vulnerability of Women Characters in Shashi Deshpandes The Dark Holds No Terrors and That Long Silence

Abstract: This particular paper critically evaluates the complex nuances of the familial and man-woman relationships in Shashi Deshpandes The Dark Holds No Terrors 1980 and That Long Silence 1988. The women characters in the novels have been constantly showing efforts to express their potential to make their presence felt in the professional world. The stereotypical notion that a woman is an embodiment of hearth and domesticity or she is an angel of the house is now experiencing unprecedented change, and has become a debatable discourse for the feminists. In many parts of India, the man-woman relationship is always at the centre of the family where the power hierarchy comes into contest. Nevertheless, the fact is that in a family, a woman is always unrecognized and seen as a marginalized and docile body. The theoretical analysis of the novels will bring about a consolidated discourse on the emerging new women. It is also argued how the vulnerability of women characters makes their families dysfunctional where they are victimized on multiple levels.

Keywords : Womanhood, Family, Narrative, Power-relation, Marginalization

DOI :

Page Number : 85-89