HERSTORY OF THE NONAGENARIANS WITH SPEICAL REFERENCE TO NANDAKAUL AND HAGAR SHIPLEY (Pages 96-103) by Dr. S. Patchainayagi in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Anita Desai and Margaret Laurence, powerful contemporary novelists of their own country, base their writings on emotion, feeling and intuition. They write mainly of women and this paper details the ‘herstory’ of two nonagenarians. Nanda Kaul’s life projects the intricacies of relationship and the problems that arise due to kinsmen. Hagar Shipley suffers from a low grade depression and the accurate effects are seen on the lives of others’ that she touches upon. Both lead an isolated life at their own style. Their isolation branches out of the disconnection with their relations and this becomes the root cause of their violation against the roles assigned by the patriarchal society. Both these old ladies are not in good terms with their husband. Nanda could not do anything about her husband’s illegal activity and she is so docile to voice her problems even. Similarly, Hagar could not reconcile with Bram Shipley and separates herself from him. The similarity is also seen in using mirror images to help their characters to come into terms with themselves. This device thwarts the distinction between the reality and appearance, fact and fiction. Desai and Laurence lament on the limitations placed upon personality by life through their indomitable characters.nita Desai and Margaret Laurence, powerful contemporary novelists of their own country, base their writings on emotion, feeling and intuition. They write mainly of women and this paper details the ‘herstory’ of two nonagenarians. Nanda Kaul’s life projects the intricacies of relationship and the problems that arise due to kinsmen. Hagar Shipley suffers from a low grade depression and the accurate effects are seen on the lives of others’ that she touches upon. Both lead an isolated life at their own style. Their isolation branches out of the disconnection with their relations and this becomes the root cause of their violation against the roles assigned by the patriarchal society. Both these old ladies are not in good terms with their husband. Nanda could not do anything about her husband’s illegal activity and she is so docile to voice her problems even. Similarly, Hagar could not reconcile with Bram Shipley and separates herself from him. The similarity is also seen in using mirror images to help their characters to come into terms with themselves. This device thwarts the distinction between the reality and appearance, fact and fiction. Desai and Laurence lament on the limitations placed upon personality by life through their indomitable characters.Keywords: Herstory, Feminism, Desai, Laurence, Hagar Shipley, Nanda Kaul.