A MODERN WOMAN’S CALL FOR HARMONY AND EQUALITY (Pages 111-118) by Dr. Bhagyashree Inamdar in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Jaya, the protagonist of the novel That Long Silence by Shashi Deshpande is a representative of modern woman who is struggling for her identity. The name ‘Jaya’ meaning ‘victory’ is given to her by her father expecting that she will be the winner in her life. And her husband named her ‘Suhasini’ and demanded her to be a silent-smiling house wife. So, Jaya tangled between these two psyches in search of her identity. The seventeen years long silence is nothing but her identity crisis which ultimately resulted into an existential voice. She dared to break this silence and took all the responsibilities. She decided to stop moving like pendulum and searched her room. Existentialism is nothing but one’s struggle to live and give meaning to the life. Jaya raised her existential voice against male-dominating world. After a long struggle and scrutiny she decided to speak and express herself. She realized that life has always to be made possible. It is a modern woman’s call for a new world of harmony, equality expecting a positive response from the other side. Key-words: modern woman, silent-smiling house wife, existentialism, male-dominating world, modern woman’s call etc.