THE PHENOMENON OF IDENTITY AND FEMININE SENSIBILITY IN ANITA DESAI’S 'CRY, THE PEACOCK' (Pages 79-85) by Dr. Kanderi Sridevi in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Anita Desai is one of the major novelists among Indian writers in English. She appeared on the Indian English Literary Landscape with the publication of her first novel, ‘Cry, the Peacock’, and her first novel was an instant success. What marks Desai as an interesting writer is her expression of radical views on the question of human freedom and the psychological delineation of the protagonist. This paper intends to explore the disintegrating psyche of Maya, the main protagonist in the ‘Cry, the Peacock’. It aims to bring out the difficulties, sufferings, conflicts and confusion that disrupt the marital relationship between Maya and her husband Gautama. The paper further reads how women struggle to gain individual identity in a Patriarchal Society.nita Desai is one of the major novelists among Indian writers in English. She appeared on the Indian English Literary Landscape with the publication of her first novel, ‘Cry, the Peacock’, and her first novel was an instant success. What marks Desai as an interesting writer is her expression of radical views on the question of human freedom and the psychological delineation of the protagonist. This paper intends to explore the disintegrating psyche of Maya, the main protagonist in the ‘Cry, the Peacock’. It aims to bring out the difficulties, sufferings, conflicts and confusion that disrupt the marital relationship between Maya and her husband Gautama. The paper further reads how women struggle to gain individual identity in a Patriarchal Society.Keywords: Landscape, radical views, psychological delineation, disintegrating psyche, Patriarchal Society.