Anita Desai’s Portrayal of Well Cultured Maya Trapped in Feminine Pysche in Cry, The Peacock

Abstract

The condition of women has gradually changed globally and the meek female has yielded place to the liberated woman. The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few centuries. From equal status with men in ancient times, through the low points of the medieval period to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful. Novelists like Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpande and Bharati Mukherjee have reacted to the changed psychological and emotional realities of Indian life. Being enlightened and exposed to the nuances of life in East and West, they are able to deal with the situation efficiently. Thus feminism, self-assertion, quest for identity are some of the major thematic concerns of these novelists. They have begun to delineate the mental trauma of their personages in order to expose the oppression inflicted upon women in the society. We see in the women protagonists the power and courage of women. Theses novelists shatter the myth that women find fulfillment in marriage and portray an honest picture of women who strive to be themselves. They move from submission to assertion in order to acquire

an identity and to fit into the mainstream of the society. Anita Desai probes into the inner consciousness of her women protagonists and explores the realities of their lives. Owing to their indomitable spirit and compromising attitude, they emerge as winners after undergoing considerable hardships. Maya in Anita Desai’s Cry, the Peacock (1963), fails to tread the path or play the societal roles traditionally assigned to an Indian woman. Desai’s novels are thus a reflection of the disturbed psyche of women who are victims of alienation and male dominance. However, they find a way out by self-discovery and introspection.