Quest for Identity in Namita Gokhale’s Shakuntala: The Play of Memory

Abstract

In Indian social setup a woman is a silent sufferer and is given secondary status both in the family and society. From time immemorial, attempts were made to redefine her identity in relation to man as wife, mother, daughter, sister but tradition trains a woman to think herself as an inferior being. She takes pride in suffering and lives with the idea of subjugation entrusted to her for years inculcation about the necessity to accept the rules assigned to her by patriarchy that runs all through their blood.Namita Gokhale in her novels has depicted the problems and difficulties faced by her female characters and has shown how they tackle these adverse situations. Her novels reveal her keen concern for the welfare of women. In her novels woman are the central characters and the narrative is primarily concerned with what is observed, felt, and experienced. Gokhale’s novel Shakuntala: The Play of Memory, presents the protagonist, Shakuntala as a victim of cultural conditionings prevalent in Indian social set-up andalso portrays her varied responses to the society she lives in.The novel reveals the woman’s quest for self-identity, an exploration into the female psyche and efforts taken by the protagonist for self- assertion.