THE IMAGE OF SUBJUGATED AND MARGINALIZED WOMAN IN THE NOVELS OF SHOBHA DE

THE IMAGE OF SUBJUGATED AND MARGINALIZED WOMAN IN THE NOVELS OF SHOBHA DE

Mrs.G.Sangeetha,Assistant Professor of English,SreeSevuganAnnamalai,College,Devakottai

The paper seeks to provide a modest study of the novels of Shobha De, the most popular Indian Woman writer in English. It attempts to make comprehensive critical comments on her fiction with an emphasis on the image of woman portrayed in her novels. The study also aims at the exploration of the versatile personality of Shobha De. Graduated from St. Xavier’s College Mumbai, Shobha De has been many things to many people: a super model, celebrity journalist, magazine editor, columnist, wife, mother, social commentator and TV scriptwriter. Most of her books are the best sellers as she realistically projects the image of the upper-class woman in contemporary India. She has an extraordinary ability to discuss the very sensitive aspects of human relationship in general and man-woman relationship in particular. In other words, the time tested populist ingredient of sex and a tempestuous style contributed to her making as one of the most popular novelists today. Shobha De believes in a very frank narration of incidents and openheartedness. Nothing is reserved in her fiction. It is in this respect Shobha De differs considerably from other Indian Women Novelists in English. Since the researcher seeks to explore and explicate overall images of women appeared in her novels, it is a fascinating study from the Indian point of view. As the present study is restricted only to her novels published upto 1996, more emphasis is on the image of woman with critical comments regarding the new emerging woman of modern cosmopolitan India. She portrays a variety ofwomen from the traditional, subjugated and marginalized to the extremely modern and liberated women.

From the historical perspective, Indian English Literature has passed through several phases such as Indo-Anglian, Indo-English, Indian Writing in English and recently Indian English Literature. Nowadays, the process of canonization of Indian English literature is completed and there is a bright prospect to it in the days of globalization.

The intellectuals in India before Independence concentrated on the national awakening and the society in a realistic manner. It was a challenge for them to express distinctly an Indian sensibility in an acquired language. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s only novel in English Rajmohan’s Wife (1864) laid down the foundation for the first generation novelists to record the rich heritage and social transformation in India. Both the male and female novelists followed him. Further, the year 1930’s, with the emergence of Mulk Raj Anand, R. K. Narayan and Raja Rao on the literary scene, marked the real beginning of Indian Novel in English. In the post-Independence phase Indian Novel in English has been termed as the modern novel. Though Modernism came late to India, it has played an important role in shaping the second generation novelists such as Bhabhani Bhattacharya, B. Rajan, ManoharMalgonkar, Khushwant Singh, ChamanNahal, Arun Joshi, KamalaMarkandaya, R. P. Jhabvala, NayantaraSahgal, Anita Desai, ShashiDeshpande and a few others who have made a tremendous contribution to novel in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Unlike 1930s and 1950s, the year 1980s marks the significant stage in the growth and development of Indian Novel in English. Salman Rushdie’s Booker Prize –winner Midnight’s Children (1981) received an international acclaim and has become a major force in world literature. It has created the Indian tradition of fiction to which belong “Rushdie’s Children” (The New York Times, 16 December, 1991), viz. AmitavGhosh, Vikram Seth, Allen Sealy, UpamanyaChatterjee, ShashiTharoor, FarukhDhondy, RohintonMistry and Firadaus Kanga.

The Indian Novel in English in the pre-Independence period mostly remained male-dominated for a very few women novelists such as Toru Dutt, Raj Lakshmi Debi, KrupabaiSathinadhan, SwarnkumariGhosal and Cornelia Sorabji emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. But during the post-Independence period there appeared a number of women writers on the literary scene like Kamala Markandaya, Ruth PrawerJhabvala, NayantaraSahgal, Anita Desai, ShashiDeshpande as well as younger generation of GithaHariharan, Nina Sibal, NamitaGokhale, Shobha De, SunitiNamjoshi, Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai (winner of Booker Prize for The Inheritance of Loss, 2006), who contributed significantly to Indian English Novel and helped its development. Feminism, free-sex, alienation, identity crisis or an individual’s struggle for freedom are some of the thematic concerns of these women writers. In their novels, the appearance of the new, fully awakened woman, ready to fight against the patriarchal norms in order to live a meaningful life, is a recent phenomenon.

The female characters created by these novelists do not accept the lowsecondary status in a male-dominated Indian society, that is conservative. The central theme, therefore, is the emergence of ‘new woman’ in the fast changing social milieu.

The Image of Subjugated and Marginalized Woman is devoted to the portrayal of the image of subjugated and marginalized women in ShobhaDe’s novels with an emphasis on men’s pride, incompatible marriages, traditional norms of behaviour and patriarchal social system as the real forces of the oppression and exploitation of women. ShobhaDe’s novels are a slice of urban life. In her novels she realistically presents an intimate side of urban woman’s life and also reveals her plight in the present day society. It is a fact that woman is victimized and subjugated by the male community everywhere. She has been the subordinate sex and has to conform to male standards. In most of her novels, Shobha De has focused on the marginalization of women in Indian society. She draws our attention to women’s exploitation, discrimination and commodification. The women are treated with double standard. Subjugation and marginalization are the vital factors in their lives. They are never regarded as autonomous beings. Karuna, the protagonist of Socialite Evenings, is the perfect example of the misery of women in India. She suffers due to the callous and non-responsive attitude of her husband. Her husband treats her as a mere object subjected to his will as a result there is a complete loss of her identity. Similarly, Anjali, a young socialite, also suffers much because of her incompatible marriage and her husband’s oppressive attitude. Here, in presenting the picture of subordination and marginalization of Indian women, ShobhaDe’s attack is not against the individuals, it is against the system that favours men and causes women’s subjugation and marginalization. In Starry Nights Shobha De has projected the shattering of human values in this glittering world of Mumbai cinema through the realistic portrayal of Aasha Rani, Geetha Devi, Malini and Rita. The other important aspect which Shobha De highlights in this and other novels is a woman’s role in the oppression and suffering of her fellow woman. In our society, women ill-treat and exploit women instead of showing love, respect and understanding for their own sex. As a matter of fact, Shobha De brings out the universal psychological truth that the woman is the enemy of the woman.

In SistersMikkiHiralal is oppressed, subjugated and exploited by BinnyMalhotra, a true representative of patriarchal system. The novel Strange Obsession revolves around the lesbian relationship between MeenakshiIyengar called ‘Minx’ and Amrita, the model from Delhi. This novel deals more with how one woman subjugates the other woman than the subjugation of women by men. Sultry Days has a male protagonist, God who says to Nisha that “one bitch is as good as another” (252). His attitude towards girls is– “use them and leave them”(8). Such attitude of men towards women clearly shows the miserable plight and marginalization of women in our society. In Snapshots the women turn into useful plaything for men in patriarchal society. The ruling ideology that favours men prompts these women to fall prey to the designs of men. All the men presented in the novel are tyrants whereas the women – Aparna, Rashmi, Swati and Noor are all victims of male tyranny. Finally, the novel Second Thoughts is a sad tale of Maya, an oppressed wife. She suffers from marital disharmony because her husband Ranjan considers woman as a mere object. Though an engineer, Maya is not allowed to take up even a part-time job. Instead, her husband again and again reminds her of ‘tradition’. It is due toRanjan’s traditional attitude and feeling of superiority, Maya feels herself trapped in a neglected and meaningless life.

ShobhaDe’s novels represent the new Indian woman’s voice. A ‘New woman’ is in search of self-identity, seeking liberation in all walks of life, replacing the traditional image of Indian woman. The need for women to seek their identity is the message in her novels. However, De also exposes the women’s misunderstanding regarding their freedom and mocks at their way of asserting their individuality by posing to be men without concentrating on female empowerment as a whole. Her women protagonists fail to understand that their sexual freedom is being used and abused by men. The novelist also suggests that, whenever women, whether circumstantially or ambitiously disregard morality, they cannot escape disaster and consequent suffering. Though De has presented women who indulge in free sex, live fashionable and wealthy life, she in no way seems to support the way of life adopted by these so called modern women. On the contrary, she shows her contempt and dislike for their unethical and socially unacceptable behaviour. This can be deduced from the ultimate fate her heroines are condemned to as a result of their indulgence in unusualactivities and deviant behaviour. In fact, Shoba De advises her women to analyse their behaviour and stop posing to be men.

Finally, though her novels are criticized for pornographic element, De is definitely a writer with a purpose. One cannot ignore her because she is the celebrity writer and has contributed in her own distinct way to Indian Novel in English. In the present scenario of gender discrimination, a study of these novels helps to widen and direct our thoughts to relevant problems affecting women in Indian society.

References

Andre Maurois,Women Writers in the Twentieth Century Literature, Oxford Press, London, 2000.

Roy Pascal, Design and Truth in Autobiography, Harvard, Cambridge, London, 1969.

SodhiMeena,Radical Feminism and Women’s Writing, Popular Book, Aligarh, 2004.