Anita Desai deals with the darkest and the deepest region of human mind which has been governed by unknown reasons. She is considered Virginia Woolf of India as well as the pioneer of contemporary women?s fiction. Unlike her contemporaries, she has distinguished herself by stressing on ?sights and sounds, on movements and patterns both physical and mental as they impinge on the consciousness of her protagonist.? (Tandon, 15) She not only portrays women?s consciousness but also familial relation, attitude, clash between tradition and modernity, shifting identity, immigration issues in the private public life. ?Anita Desai ... can claim the unique distinction of giving a new dimension to Indian English fiction through her first novel Cry, the Peacock ? which shifted the focus to the unexplored realm of the female psyche.? (Maya, 145) So Anita Desai who was famous among contemporary fictionalists, has tried her best to depict the tragic end of human feelings which are chained in the difficult situation of human life. ?She is more interested in the interior landscape of mind than in political and social realities.? (Iyengar, 176). Finally, we come to the conclusion that the search for self-identity of women characters is the recurrent theme of Anita Desai's novels. It also aims to analyse how her female protagonists erupt from the norms of patriarchy and its effects on their life.
Research Scholar, Department of English, J. P. University, Chhapra
