Quest for Self-Fulfilment in the Novels of Anita Desai

Quest for Self-fulfilment in the Novels of Anita Desai is an indepth study that examines the plight of various individuals caught up in their self-deluding and self-limiting theories of life. Advocating a synthesis between detachment and attachment, or an attachment-in-detachment. Dr. Chakravertty analyses the different multi-layered narratives to explicate Anita Desai’s concern for characters unable to achieve the balance between their inner and outer worlds. She has used the frameworks of Indian philosophy, existentialism and Personal Construct Theory to explore a fundamental truth – that self-fulfilment can only be achieved by going out of the self and realising the interdependence of different selves. Dr. Chakravertty also examines the different narrative strategies, the richly evocative language and Anita Desai’s aartistic ability to convey the “inarticulate” in concrete terms.