Cultural Tapestry and Female Narratives: Unveiling Identity Crisis in Shashi Deshpande's That Long Silence and Bharati Mukherjee's Desirable Daughters

Abstract

This paper delves into the intricate exploration of cultural tapestry and female narratives by analysing how identity crisis is portrayed in That Long Silence by Shashi Deshpande and Desirable Daughters by Bharati Mukherjee. Both novels provide deep insights into the challenges faced by the characters as they negotiate their gender roles and cultural heritage in the face of opposing cultural backgrounds. Deshpande and Mukherjee give a comprehensive representation of the problems encountered by women in contemporary Indian culture as well as in foreign lands by deftly combining themes of tradition, modernism, and female autonomy. This research aims to contribute to a better understanding of the changing dynamics of gender and cultural identity in modern literature by analysing these literary works in comparison.