Ordeals of Suppressed Womanhood in the novel ‘Cry, The Peacock’ by Anita Desai.

Abstract

Anita Desai in her attempts to capture the essence of a character who moves away from society and lives in a sort of exile portrays the struggles such an individual faces before they arrive at a reclusive solution. Their solitude is often either forced or voluntary. Her protagonists are primarily female and they struggle with a tremendous inner tension. Cry, The Peacock is the story of a young girl Maya trapped in a loveless marriage. Having lost her mother at a young age she looks for affection in other sources and becomes extremely sensitive. Brought up by a doting, over-protective father she believes in romance and love. Maya suffers from ‘Electra Complex’ which is partly the reason why she marries a man much older than her. But her husband Gautama turns out to be nothing like her father. He seems to be a cold, unfeeling intellectual who considers Maya a stubborn, spoilt child who needs to be disciplined and taught the meaning of real life. Their marriage shows visible signs of strain but Gautama remains unaware of it and also of the loneliness that he subjects Maya to through his condescending attitude. The present study is an attempt to explore how the novel portrays the ordeals of suppressed womanhood in the novel.