Paper Details

This paper explores the emergence of the "New Woman" in contemporary Indian literature through the characters Jaya in Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence (1988) and Rachel in Esther David’s Book of Rachel (2006). Both protagonists challenge traditional gender norms within their respective cultural contexts - Jaya in a middle-class Hindu family and Rachel in a marginalized Jewish-Indian community. This study examines how Jaya and Rachel evolve from silence and submission to self-realization and empowerment. Using feminist literary theory and comparative analysis, the paper highlights how these characters negotiate their personal and cultural identities. The research suggests that both Jaya and Rachel represent diverse aspects of the New Woman, where the former critiques patriarchal domesticity while the latter negotiates communal survival and belonging. The analysis contributes to the understanding of gender, identity, and cultural negotiation in post-independence Indian literature.

New Woman, Feminist literary analysis, Jaya, Rachel, Shashi Deshpande, Esther David, That Long Silence, Book of Rachel, Gender identity, Cultural negotiation, Patriarchy, Minority agency