Indian Women Literature

Indian women novelists have given a new dimension to the Indian literature. Indian English literature has developed over a period of time and writing in English did not start in a day. It took many years and several distinguished personalities to bring the present status and distinction to Indian English literature. Indian literature is not only about novels, it is also about poetries and short stories. Before the rise of novels, several women writers composed songs, short stories and small plays. It is still believed that women are the upholders of the rich Indian tradition of fables, storytelling and more. In the mid-nineteenth century, more women started to write in the English language. With the passage of time, English literature has witnessed

Indian societies gave priorities to the worth of male experiences. In those days, women used to write about a woman's perception and experiences within the enclosed domestic arena. On the other hand, male authors used to deal with heavy themes. Thus, it was assumed that their work would get more priority and acceptance in the society. During the 18th century, these factors led towards the decline of Indian women writing. And with all these factors, production of women's literature declined further. In the 19th century, more and more women actively participated in India's reformist movement against the British rule. It again led to the women's literature. At that time, their write-ups mainly concentrated on the country's freedom struggle. Over the years, the world of feminist ideologies began to influence the English literature of

As a novelist Kamala Markandaya is intensely aware if the impact of the socio-economic forces on contemporary women. In her novel, Nectar in a Sieve, Rukmani the protagonist is presented as a woman of sorrows barely managing to survive in a South Indian village, the existential plight of women in a male-dominated society is effectively presented in Anita Desai’s fiction too. Her women characters are in perpetual quest for some meaning or value in life. Maya in her novel Cry the Peacock inhabits a world full of morbid fears and turns neurotic and eventually psychotic, because of her failure to establish a cordial and satisfactory relationship with her husband Gautama. Having experienced the bitterness and agony of marital discord which ultimately resulted in a divorce in her own life, Nayantara Sehgal depicts in her novels and Indian woman’s struggle for survival in the present day world and her quest for individual freedom and self- identity. with a profound understanding of feminine sensibility, she explores and voices the mute miseries of millions of married women through her works of