Critical Study of Female Protagonists in Kamala Markandaya’s Select Novels

Abstract

The post-independence era marks the grand inception of the literary emancipation of women. It evinces the creative release of the feminine sensibility, which notwithstanding its relatively later manifestation, merits recognition under its self-sufficiency. This article aims to study critically the female protagonists of select novels of Kamala Markandaya such as The Handful of Rice, The Golden Honeycomb, and Two Virgins. The methodology adopted for this study is a character analysis of female protagonists. The results reflect on the quest for self –identity, spiritual responses, search for connotation and value of life, the journey from self-denial to self-assertion, and other important aspects of a woman living in a male-dominated society in the country like India. Kamala Markandaya`s female characters of her fictions also concerned with the fundamental question –the loft of womanhood. The female protagonists are also seeking self-fulfillment without losing their basic identity. The female protagonists of the author`s fictions also reject the convention role of subjugation and self-deny. They also raise their fingers against the customs of the male-dominated society of post-independence India