The Agony Of Women In The Novel Binding Vine

Abstract

Ever since the dawn of post- colonial age, women have been fighting and struggling against the social discrimination. One of the major concerns of the contemporary literature all over the world has been focused on the plight of women and their physical and mental anguish in the male dominated society. In the contemporary Indian women writers like Kamala Das, Anita Desai and Shashi Deshpande, openly express their views on the sexual problems of women and questioning gender discrimination. Shashi Deshpande is one of the most prominent Indian feminist writers in the 20th century. All her short stories and novels are concentrated on women’s psyche. Shashi Deshpande’s writings are the mirror of impressive dealing of female experience. She profoundly examines the issues and problems of contemporary middle class women. Her heroines are penetrating, intellectual and career-oriented. Binding Vine is one of the best feminist novels of hers. The aim of writing this article is to highlight the agony of women in the Shashi Deshpande’s novel The Binding Vine. The novel, Binding Vine depicts the agony of women's lives in the society and examines the tragic incidents in the lives of different women. She addresses various social issues of contemporary Indian gender issues. This novel revolves around the individual tragedies of three women characters, Urmi, Mira, and Kalpana and their attempt to change societal roles and attitudes, but the most disturbing issues are that those women prefer to suffer in silence than expose. They would rather choke their voice of protest for the sake of social and moral security.