Representation of Female Subalterns in Shashi Deshpande’s The Intrusion and other Stories

Abstract

This research studies stories from Shashi Deshpande’sThe Intrusion and Other Stories(1993) in which it explores how the vicious circle of power and social arrangements are responsible for double victimization because of their femalee biological body and other socioeconomic circumstances that largely shapes the social psyche. They are not only forced to observe the conventional genderroles,but they undergo situations where such discriminations and offenses are naturalized to an extent that they are considered ‘normal'. The selected stories studied showcase that even educated women are being repressed in the society by their own family members and the female characters allow such treatment as natural and inevitable. This study brings theoretical insights from Gayatri Spivak’s seminal essay “Can Subaltern Speak?” where she argues that females are subalterns in the sense they do not have the agency to overcome existing social hurdles and make their voice heard.