Powerful Protagonists of Preeti Shenoy

Abstract

This paper examines the dramatic protagonists of Indian contemporary fiction as advanced by the author Preeti Shenoy. It is argued that Shenoy’s protagonists are not ‘women of substance’ by virtue of being flawless or publicly revolutionary. Rather, they are the women, who survive the most difficult crossroads, and the constant motion beyond emotional breakdown, family disputes, social and class anxieties and judgment Shenoy’s work challenges the Indian literary fiction canon as she addresses the heretofore under-accounted issues such as the complexities of mental health, the institution of marriage, the world of work, the and care, as well as the self identity of Indian women, offered in an accessible and compelling manner. Key protagonists of Shenoy’s fiction such as Ankita, Vipasha, Veda, Diksha, and Alka and women characters in ‘The One You Cannot Have’ are analyzed in the light of the emerging ‘new Indian woman’ in contemporary Indian women’s fiction, and the post-liberalization Indian chick-lit. It also employs contemporary India data on women’s labour, unpaid carework, and mental health to establish the social realism of her characters. It is ascertained that Shenoy offers women protagonists W emotional depth and moral richness, however most of her fiction situates empowerment as ‘personal negotiation’ rather than a viable ‘collective empowerment’. Despite this, her protagonists are the first to showcase the complexities of women’s private realms in the popular Indian novel.