Shashi Deshpande’s Fiction

The status of woman all over the world, particularly in India, has been undergoing a rapid change in the recent decades. This phenomenon therefore has drawn the attention of literary artists, theorists and sociologists. The present book aims at analyzing Shashi Deshpande’s novels in the light of postcolonial and feminist theories. The author of the book argues, in a systematic and sustained manner, that Deshpande, in her fiction, deals essentially with the empowerment of women and that the postcolonial discourse offers a convenient theoretical framework to expound her viewpoint. He analyzes Deshpande’s novels in the light of postcolonial theories of literature, and concludes that the change in the position of woman in any society is a reliable index to social change in general. As such, the present study should be considered an important contribution not only to literature but also to women’s studies and sociology.