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Silence, Selfhood and Resistance: A Feminist-Psychoanalytic Reading of Shashi Deshpande
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: English
Abstract
This article examines Shashi Deshpande’s representation of feminine consciousness through a feminist-psychoanalytic reading of That Long Silence, The Dark Holds No Terrors, The Binding Vine, and Shadow Play. Based on the conceptual and critical material in the supplied manuscript, the study focuses on silence, memory, desire, relational negotiation, professional identity, and the recovery of female voice. It argues that Deshpande relocates feminist struggle from spectacular public rebellion to the psychological and relational spaces of everyday life. Her protagonists experience patriarchal structures not only as external restrictions but also as internalized expectations that shape self-perception and behaviour. Through interior monologue, reflective narration, temporal fluidity, and recovered stories, Deshpande represents consciousness as a process of self-recognition. The article further considers the relevance of these concerns to contemporary digital feminism, where new opportunities for voice coexist with new forms of surveillance and judgment. Deshpande’s feminism is thus understood as an ethical and psychological practice of self-definition, empathy, and negotiated agency.
Keywords
Shashi Deshpande; feminist psychoanalysis; feminine consciousness; silence and voice; selfhood; domesticity; relational feminism; Indian English fiction
How to cite this paper
@article{1722970,
author = {Dr. M. Swapna},
title = {Silence, Selfhood and Resistance: A Feminist-Psychoanalytic Reading of Shashi Deshpande},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {7},
pages = {3039-3043},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1722970.pdf},
abstract = {This article examines Shashi Deshpande’s representation of feminine consciousness through a feminist-psychoanalytic reading of That Long Silence, The Dark Holds No Terrors, The Binding Vine, and Shadow Play. Based on the conceptual and critical material in the supplied manuscript, the study focuses on silence, memory, desire, relational negotiation, professional identity, and the recovery of female voice. It argues that Deshpande relocates feminist struggle from spectacular public rebellion to the psychological and relational spaces of everyday life. Her protagonists experience patriarchal structures not only as external restrictions but also as internalized expectations that shape self-perception and behaviour. Through interior monologue, reflective narration, temporal fluidity, and recovered stories, Deshpande represents consciousness as a process of self-recognition. The article further considers the relevance of these concerns to contemporary digital feminism, where new opportunities for voice coexist with new forms of surveillance and judgment. Deshpande’s feminism is thus understood as an ethical and psychological practice of self-definition, empathy, and negotiated agency.},
keywords = {Shashi Deshpande; feminist psychoanalysis; feminine consciousness; silence and voice; selfhood; domesticity; relational feminism; Indian English fiction},
month = {January},
}