Evolution in the Portrayal of Women Characters (A Select Study of the Novels of Manju Kapur, Anita Desai, Githa Hariharan and Anita Nair)

The dissertation is about the evolution in the portrayal of women in Indian English Novels written by women novelists. The thesis aims to show how the women characters portrayed in the novels the past three decades reflect the changes that are taking place in Indian society. There is a lot of differences in the way women portrayed- their desires, their trauma as presented in the earlier novels are different from their desires and trauma as presented in the later novels. It tries to show the gradual change in the outlook of the character as well as the change in the social outlook through the novels of Manju Kapur, Anita Desai, Githa Hariharan and Anita Nair. It gives the changing of scenes and life style of women, trying to contrast it with the pre-independent period and earlier and eventually these writers show how women realize that they have been suppressed and exploited and they register the protest. The struggle to cope up with situations results either in depression or in protest leading to marital disharmony and family integration It further focuses on desire for freedom results in conflicts within the individual about sticking on to the traditional pattern and fulfilment of one`s desires violating some of the traditional forms and the second one being the individual in conflict with the society. The thesis analyses the reactions of the various characters and focuses on their search for identity, there by establishing the change in perception in their outlook.