FEMINIST CONCIOUSNESS IN THE NOVEL THE DARK HOLDS NO TERROR

Marriage is the destiny of the woman; to live single is suggestive of weirdness. It carries shame to the woman's loved ones. It is the guardians' social commitment and moral obligation to get their little girl married before she passes the eligible age. For social backing and her people’s happiness, the young lady needs to go through the awkward inquiry where she is inspected by the family members as though she is a commercial item. Dispossessed of the opportunity to decide or articulate her thoughts, she is forced into marriage customs. Neither her people nor the man ask what she wants. Deshpande’s anxiety with the man centric idea that a woman should exist just as far as her relationship with a man where she will actually want to control all phases of her life. The chief focal point of the study is woman. Through the eyes of feminism, it has to been seen that how and to what extent she has been given expression by Shashi Deshpande. Shashi Deshpande, an Indian novelist in English has mainly focused on the novels written so far on middle class woman and her compromises, frustrations and urges.