Fragmented Lives of Women in the Novels of Manju Kapur

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to analyse Manju Kapur’s first novel Difficult Daughters which intuitively unfolds the struggles of Indian women who are living in the patriarchal society. A Married Woman (2003), Home (2006), and The Immigrant (2009), are the other novels which earned her the Commonwealth Prize in the Eurasia Section. They were written with the intention of contrasting tradition to the modernity. Itillustrates the problem of modern society and its value system. Manju Kapur is really eager to highlight the issues and topics that are pertaining to women from a wider angle. The issues of women have been addressed mostly through the new educated middle-classwomen. Her works evidently represents the notion that all women intended to be married and submit their lives to their husbands but they are able to attain some sort of fulfilment outside their home. In spite of that Women are motivated to enter into the world of family life. The mixing of traditional and modern mentality is the main cause for their struggles. The issue can be found in Manju Kapur’s works as a unique identity. The novel Custody was an effort to adopt a feminist viewpoint in order to analyse the female body. The development of feminism in the 1960s, a new type of woman called the ‘New Woman’ arose who was entirely distinct from her conventional counterpart. This new woman may be aware, self-assured, and assertive, yet occasionally she may be deceived or emotionally duped. She eliminates her place as the other and gains the focal Centre.