IMAGE OF WOMEN IN ANITA DESAI’S THE SELECT NOVELS

Anita Desai and Kamala Markandaya’s “A Comparative Study of Selected Novels” is an attempt to investigate the plights of women as they are portrayed in the novels that were chosen for this study, as well as the methods that the protagonists of these books employ in order to overcome the challenges they face. An experience that is both intriguing and satisfying is one in which one compares and contrasts the writings of two different writers. Both Anita Desai and Kamala Markandaya are well-known authors in the realm of English literature. However, with the exception of a number of publications, very few scholars have sought to compare the horrors that are experienced by women in the books written by these two authors. The female protagonists in these books are on a journey of self-discovery that takes them from self-negatation to self-affirmation as well as from self-denial to self-acceptance. They are willing to give up their life. Both independently and together, a substantial number of critical essays and even a few full-length monographs on the two authors have been produced.