Familial Relationship in Shashi Deshpande’s The Dark Holds No Terrors

Abstract

Family plays a big role in the Indian society. Traditionally in all societies marriage and family are considered to be its most sacred institutions. They are the source of comfort and nurture the members living within it. As a wonderful bridge between nature and civilization, biology and culture, sex and virtue or righteousness, private rivalry and public order, the institution of marriage marks a unique development in the evolutionary history of humanity. Social roles and social constructs influence family relationships in multiple ways. Deshpande in her works exposed the subtle processes of oppression and gender differentiation operative within the institution of the family and the male-centred Indian society at large. According to them feminism does not uproot the woman from her background but tries to expose the different ideological elements that shape her. These include social and psychological factors such as, woman’s subordinate position in the family and her restricted sexuality. The author seeks to expose the ideology by which a woman is trained to play her subservient role in society. This paper stressed the need for women to break free from the shackles of their traditional position and see their own need for self-fulfilment as more important than the duty of sacrificing themselves for their husbands and children.