Voices of Marginalized Women in Anita Nair’s Novels

Abstract

Anita Nair is a renowned novelist and has become known as a writer possessing deep insight into the female consciousness. Her novels are all about various women's issues in contemporary Indian society. Her novels also highlight subjugation, discrimination, silence domestic violence, familial tensions, patriarchy, loneliness, and rejection of women by her husband. Feminism stands for equality and equal standards of living for every gender. Feminism as a movement stands against patriarchy. Patriarchy is a social system, whereby the male member of the family takes precedence and is considered to be the head. This paper reviews the theme of feminism in the novels of Anita Nair. Women are viewed as inferior in our society and are declared unsuitable for independent living. Many educated women nowadays are attempting to alter the traditional images that are still prevalent in our culture. Akila and Meera, the characters of Anita Nair's books Ladies Coupe and Lessons in Forgetting, have never been able to live on their own. These characters are desperate to reject their traditional identities. The protagonists in Nair's films amply demonstrated the power of education in transforming the stereotypical image of women.