Portrayal of Women in Geetanjali Shree’s Mai: Silently Mother

Abstract

Geetanjali Shree is a novelist and short story writer penning in Hindi and English language. Her popularity is recognised by the readers after her receiving Booker Prize in 2022. Her writings mostly focus on women’s issues and answers to the issues concerned. The research paper prominently deals with her novel Mai: Silently Mother published in English in 2017. It narrates three generations of women through the characters of Mai, Dadi and Sunaina. Mai is the protagonist and representative of the generation trapped in modernity and traditional cultural and patriarchal customs which results in internal conflicts regarding accountability and independence. Dadi is the mother-in-law of the protagonist Mai and representative of the stereotype society. She is very strict and disciplined in carrying out set societal cultural standards. Sunaina is the daughter of the protagonist and upholds the modern societal standards and negates stereotypes in the society. For her, freedom and choice matter a lot. She believes in the principle of leading the life independently. She bravely repudiates the long-standing social norms. This research paper contributes to deeply understand the varied experiences of women and on-going struggle for gender equality. It offers some suggestive measures through the feminist angles to eradicate the deadly cancers in the form of traditional cultural and societal norms.