Gender Roles, Equality and Feminine Identity: A Study of Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence

Abstract

Gender roles have been defined, imposed, stereotyped, shaped and reshaped throughout the ages and across the cultures. With the rise and development of feminist thought and movements, the role of women and their position in the society, both domestically and professionally, have gone through a transition and continue to do so. Despite the emergence of women to the participation and leadership in all the fields, the disparity in representation of women and men is apparent, especially in India. Literature provides a great resource to evaluate and understand such social concerns associated with gender roles in the cultural context. Shashi Deshpande’s critically acclaimed novel That Long Silence deals with such issues in a contemporary domestic Indian backdrop. The protagonist Jaya, born and brought up in a middle-class family, suppresses her individuality and aspirations since childhood which increase after her marriage with more intensity creating conflict between her being a writer and a wife. The paper seeks to explore how an individual’s identity is shaped by gender and imposed gender-biased religious and cultural beliefs which may lead one to an existential crisis. Further, it also examines and explores the power relationships that exist between the two genders concerning the notions of equality and equity in domestic as well as professional settings.