Critique of patriarchal ethos in Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence

Abstract

This study explores the identities of Jaya, Tara, Nayana and Nilima, the female characters in Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence. The female characters oppose the exploitation of male ideology and female submission. Jaya explores her identity and collective women identity by critiquing the marriage institution and Hindu religious values and norms through the means of confessional writing. Her marriage is in brink of divorce through writing a story of a married couple. Despite of being in such condition, she wants to compromise with her husband if he accepts her conditions. Through the story of a married couple, she exposes the sufferings of married females who lose their freedom and are confined to house hold chores. Through this, she challenges the norms and values of the society because such kind of confessional writing is not allowed in patriarchal society. Hence, she violates the ethos of the society and revolts against traditional way of husband wife relation through exposing the suffering and breaking the age-old silence she establishes her individual identity. In this way, Jaya as a writer goes against the norms and values of the society for women identity. Tara tries to establish her identity by violating the traditional norms and values of the society by cursing her husband. Nayana also tries to establish her identity by challenging her husband and Nilima also wants to establish her individual identity by giving oppositional view and wants to get son's position in the family. So, she wants to cremate dead one in the family. Thus, these female characters go against the traditional ethos of the Indian Hindu religious society for their distinct identities as women.