View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Etheses - A Saurashtra University Library Service Saurashtra University Re – Accredited Grade ‘B’ by NAAC (CGPA 2.93) Manavar, Twinkle B., 2009, The Feminist Approach and the Fictional World of Nayantara Sahgal: A Critical Study, thesis PhD, Saurashtra University http://etheses.saurashtrauniversity.edu/id/eprint/126 Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Saurashtra University Theses Service http://etheses.saurashtrauniversity.edu [email protected] © The Author THE FEMI(cid:8)IST APPROACH A(cid:8)D THE FICTIO(cid:8)AL WORLD OF (cid:8)AYA(cid:8)TARA SAHGAL: A CRITICAL STUDY A DISSERTATIO(cid:8) SUBMITTED TO THE SAURASHTRA U(cid:8)IVERSITY, RAJKOT FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY I(cid:8) E(cid:8)GLISH SUBMITTED BY: Ms. TWI(cid:18)KLE B. MA(cid:18)AVAR Research Scholar Smt. S. H. Gardi Institute of English & Comparative Literary Studies Saurashtra University RAJKOT-360 005 SUPERVISED BY: Dr. JAYDIPSI(cid:18)H K. DODIYA Associate Professor Smt. S. H. Gardi Institute of English & Comparative Literary Studies Saurashtra University RAJKOT-360 005 2009 STATEME(cid:6)T U(cid:6)DER U(cid:6)I. O. Ph.D. 7 ________________________________________________________ I hereby declare that the work embodied in my thesis entitled as THE FEMI(cid:6)IST APPROACH A(cid:6)D THE FICTIO(cid:6)AL WORLD OF (cid:6)AYA(cid:6)TARA SAHGAL: A CRITICAL STUDY, prepared for Ph.D. Degree has not been submitted for any other degree of this University or any other University on any previous occasion. And to the best of my knowledge, no work has been reported on the above subject. And the work presented in this thesis is original and wherever references have been made to the work of others, they have been clearly indicated as such and the source of information is included in the bibliography. SUBMITTED BY: SUPERVISED BY: Ms. TWI(cid:8)KLE B. MA(cid:8)AVAR Dr. JAYDIPSI(cid:8)H K. DODIYA Research Scholar Associate Professor Smt. S.H. Gardi Inst. of English Smt. S.H. Gardi Inst. of English & Comp. Literary Studies, & Comp. Literary Studies, Saurashtra University, Saurashtra University, RAJKOT-360 005. RAJKOT-360 005. CO(cid:3)TE(cid:3)TS ________________________________________________________ ACK(cid:6)OWLEDGEME(cid:6)TS i-iii CHAPTER I: I(cid:6)TRODUCTIO(cid:6) 01 CHAPTER II: FEMI(cid:6)ISM 38 CHAPTER III: SOCIO-POLITICAL CO(cid:6)CER(cid:6)S I(cid:6) THE (cid:6)OVELS OF SAHGAL 78 CHAPTER IV: SAHGAL’S WOME(cid:6): A FEMI(cid:6)IST APPROACH 141 CHAPTER V: CO(cid:6)CLUSIO(cid:6) 201 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 213 i AAAACCCCKKKKNNNNOOOOWWWWLLLLEEEEDDDDGGGGEEEEMMMMEEEENNNNTTTTSSSS ________________________________________________________ It gives me immense pleasure to express my deep sense of regards to my research guide, Dr. Jaydipsinh K. Dodiya, Associate Professor, Smt. S. H. Gardi Institute of English & Comparative Literary Studies, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, who has guided and helped me at each and every stage of my research work. I am extremely thankful to him for his profound knowledge, kind co-operation, sincere encouragement and inspiring discussions throughout the progress of this work. I am highly indebted to Dr. Kamal Mehta, Head, Smt. S. H. Gardi Institute of English & Comparative Literary Studies, Saurashtra University, Rajkot and other faculty members – Prof. A. K. Singh, Dr. S. M. Mukherjee and Dr. R. B. Zala for their valuable and fruitful suggestions and helping me at proper time during my work. I am sincerely thankful to Principal Dr. R. R. Kalariya and all the faculties of Smt. K. S. N. Kansagara Mahila ii College, Rajkot as well as Principal Dr. N. M. Kanani and the faculties of Shri J. H. Bhalodia Women’s College, Rajkot. I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to Prof. M. B. Roy, Dr. Fatima Sugarwala, Dr. Soniya Sapowadia, Prof. Jyotiben Dhameliya and Dr. Krishna Daiya for their suggestions and timely help during my work. I am also grateful to Mr. N. N. Soni, Librarian, Saurashtra University, Rajkot for the help and co-operation during my work. I am not less indebted to the different libraries: The Library of the Department of English as well as the University Central Library and the Academic Staff College Library of Saurashtra University, Rajkot, the Library of Gujarat University, Ahmedabad and the Library of S. P. University, V. V. Nagar for providing necessary study materials pertaining to the dissertation. I owe my deep gratitude to my respected, worthy and beloved father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother- in-law Dr. Jamanbhai Bhalodia and sister-in-law for their blessings and encouragement. iii I have no words to express my sense of gratitude towards my husband, Dr. Jayant A. Bhalodia, Assistant professor, Department of Physics, Saurashtra University, Rajkot for his whole-hearted co-operation, high inspiration and constant help at each and every stage during the course of my study. Without his constant encouragement and support, this study would not have been possible. I also record with pleasure my sincere thanks to Ramesh, Hitesh, Nisha, Shirish, Keena, Mital and Priya. Last but not the least, I would like to mention my most special note of sweet love to my beloved little son, Rhythm for sacrificing the pleasure of my love during this work. Without his support, this dissertation would not have seen the light of the day. ((((MMMMssss.... TTTTwwwwiiiinnnnkkkklllleeee BBBB.... MMMMaaaannnnaaaavvvvaaaarrrr)))) Place: Rajkot Date: 24th December 2009. 1 CHAPTER – I I(cid:11)TRODUCTIO(cid:11) ________________________________________________________ I During almost six decades of post-colonial history of Indian English fiction, a wide variety of novelists has emerged focusing attention on a multitude of social, economic, political, religious and spiritual issues faced by three coinciding periods of human experience. India as a subject matter of literary writing is uniquely placed because within a period of half a century it witnessed diversified upheavals and tremors caused by the coexistence of post-colonial nostalgia, the new colonial awareness as well as the post-modernist revivalism. Interestingly, the women novelists have been at the core of all literary writings of this phase. With the turn of the century the Indian English women novelists have surpassed their male counterparts outnumbering them quantitatively as well as by maintaining a high standard of literary writing, equally applauded in India and abroad, experimenting boldly with not only technique but also by incorporating tabooed subject matters in their novels and short stories. Indian writing in English has gained immense popularity and recognition in the last two decades of the 20th century. From Raja Rao to Salman Rushdie, the fictional writers have concentrated on changing societal patterns, transformation of values, and on the individual’s predicament in a society in transition. Rapid 2 industrialization, scientific revolutions and upsurge of information technologies, have all led to a devaluation of ethics and crumbling of culture. Indian writers have constantly tried to adapt themselves to the changing scenario. The seed of Indian Writing in English was sown during the period of the British rule in India. Gradually, there emerged a few talented writers of this living and evolving literary genre, who could lift this form to international status and universal recognition. The three names usually mentioned in the literary circles in this context are Mulk Raj Anand, R. K. Narayan and Raja Rao. They are known as ‘The Big Three’, an epithet coined by the noted English critic William Walsh. Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand and R. K. Narayan in their own inimitable style adopted the English language to serve their purpose. The credit of bringing a name and reputation to Indo- English fiction goes to them. These three innovative writers have brought world recognition to the new genre namely Indian-English fiction. While considering Indian-English literature, one can perceive ‘Indianness’ in Indian Writing in English. K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar states, “What makes Indo-Anglian literature an Indian literature and not just a ramshackle outhouse of English literature is the quality of its ‘Indianness’ in the choice of its subjects, in the texture of thought and play of sentiment, in the organization of material and in the creative use of language.”1 Whereas Meenakshi Mukherjee observes, “Whatever be the language in which it is written, a novel by an Indian writer demands direct involvement in values and experiences which 2 are valid in the Indian context.” What the Indian critics expect in 3 Indian Writing in English is only a feel of the shared experience of the tradition, culture and heritage which they have in common with the writer. The themes of the Indo-English fiction are the problems of social, domestic and sex. The most prominent technique of narration in the Indo-English fiction is the stream of consciousness narrative. Mulk Raj Anand introduced this technique in the Indo-English fiction. Raja Rao adopted the autobiographical form of narration. The phenomenon of mulk Raj Anand owes directly to the depression of the thirties and to India’s quest for national identity. It should be easy enough to dismiss Anand as a mere social realist. The portrayal of middle-class life in R. K. Narayan’s novels is realistic and authentic. The ‘Big Three’ are followed by other distinguished writers like Manohar Malgonkar, Khushwant Singh, Bhabani Bhattacharya and Balachandra Rajan. In the galaxy of Indian novelists in English, Indian women writers too shine luminously like their male counterparts by their significant contribution to enrichment of Indian English novels. Though women writers attempted their hands at this new genre as early as 1879. Indian women novelists in English constitute a significant group. Fiction by women writers constitutes a major segment of the contemporary Indian writing in English. It provides insights, a wealth of understanding, a reservoir of meanings and a basis of discussion. In Indian novelists in English, women writers like R. P. Jhabvala, Nayantara Sahgal, Kamala Markandaya, Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpande, Arundhati Roy, Shobha De, Bharati Mukherjee,