THE PORTRAIT OF THE NEW WOMAN IN SHOBHA DE’S SISTERS AND MANJU KAPUR’SHOME

Abstract

Indian English Literature is remarkable in the contributions made by its women writers. Shobha De and Manju Kapur are among them who attempt to portray the conditions of the Indian women who encounter various trials and tribulations due to the conflicting influence of tradition and modernity. They present the tormented consciousness of the urban middle- class women who in search of their own identity changes from a silent sufferer to a complete rebel moving against the age- old traditions, ethics and restrictions of the male dominated society. This sort of self-assertion is reflected in Manju Kapur’s Home and Shobha De’s Sisters. Both works set in a business background, present the central protagonists Mikki and Nisha as women who bravely face and struggle against the bounds of being ‘a woman’ and finally achieve their ardent quest towards being themselves. They affirm the capacity of the new educated Indian women to determine their priorities for self-discovery in emerging as a ‘new woman’.