Anita Desai's Novel Analysis

Societal Reflections in Anita Desai’s Novels
V.S Bindhu1, R Pranesh Kumar1
1Assistant Professor, Department of English, Noorul Islam University, Kumaracoil, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu 629180, India.
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ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on the societal reflections in Anita Desai‟s novels and it further explores the serious day-to-day issues faced by women in a male dominated society. Desai‟s sensitive portrayal of the personal struggle of women in contemporary society brings out the challenging aspects of their lives. As a woman Desai has assumed an unparagoned role by exploring the emotional world of women and placing women in inhospitable terrain.
Keywords: Plight, Society, Freedom, Woman, Alienation.

In Anita Desai‟s novel Fasting Feastingthe male character Arun is imposed with all necessities of life. He who is not good at studies is educated abroad. In contrast, the female character Uma suffers social impoverishment. Necessities and care are being denied for a female child even from her family. Thus Gender Bias seems to be deeply rooted in the family in which the parents are the root cause for this nature of discrimination. Education is denied to girls; particularly in rural areas of the country as the parents believe they are only fit to do household activities. They are not supposed to be outside the four walls of the home. Women‟s suppression in the patriarchal society is clearly portrayed in Desai‟s novel Village By the Sea. The character Lila had to leave her schooling and stay at home to look after her two sisters.
Women experience social evils in society. They have been treated cruelly which affects them both physically and mentally. In Desai‟s novel Fasting Feasting, Uma‟s cousin Anamika has to face the cruel torture imposed by her husband and her mother-in-law. “Anamika was beaten regularly by her mother-in-law while her husband stood by and approved – or at least, did not object.”(Fasting Feasting, 71) She is beaten by her husband even when she is pregnant. “She had had a miscarriage at home, it was said, after a beating. It was said she could not

Desai tries to find victory over the problems faced by the sensitive woman Sita, but unfortunately the only solution she get from them is Marital Discord. They have different attitudes, individual complexes and fears which add their distance between Raman and Sita and finally results in conjugal disharmony. Sita represents her world of emotion and Raman represents the prose of life and an acceptance of norms and regulations of the society. He is unable to understand his wife Sita who reacts against every incident. Sita is alienated from her father during her childhood as her father a doctor is busy with his patients. After marriage her expectations are shattered into pieces by her husband‟s failure to understand her expectations. Her married life ends in marital discord due to the wide gap and the increasing tension between them. Woman‟s feelings are not at all respected in a male-dominated society and it is the woman who has to change her life style, to suit a man‟s need and not man; is the concept of the society. Whenever a woman fails to adjust herself, there arise