FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM FROM THE SHAKLES OF PATRIARCHY (Pages 112-119) by Mrs. G. Jyothi Olivia in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Manju Kapur’s A Married Woman deals with feminism and Lesbianism also. The writer depicts lesbianism using the character Astha and Pipee. These two women like each other and want to be free from the male dominated society. Manju Kapur pointed out the inner feelings of middle class Indian women. A Man can’t send his sister or wife with another man but able to send her wife with another woman. The protagonist of the novel, Astha is Kapur’s new woman “conscious, introspective, educated, wants to carve a life for herself, to some extent she even conveys a personal vision of woman hood by violating current social codes “(Malik,2012:171) Astha physical relationship with Pipee is treated as lesbian bonding between two woman. Astha is attracted by the love and affection of Pipee. she is bored with her husband’s absence. The gender discrimination in her home provoked her to have sexual pleasure with Pipee. the exhausted Astha finally breaks patriarchal love laws that canon a heterosexual relationship within the principle of marriage. This paper presents the conflict between the tradition and modernity was beautifully portrayed by Manju Kapur in her novel A Married Woman. Keywords: Tradition, Modernity, Gender-bias, Discrimination, Independent, Oppression, Agony, Identity.