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This paper aims to study Shashi Deshpande's novel That Long Silence from feminist as well as psychoanalytic viewpoints. It puts a strong emphasis on silence and suppressed thoughts, and their impact on the female psyche. However, silence is depicted here as an intricate theme symbolising a range of ideologies within the course of the novel. By highlighting the emotional and psychological turmoil of Jaya in her suffocating married life with Mohan, this paper aims to critique the institution of marriage, and the various socio-cultural mores of patriarchy, which attempt to silence women, thereby ensuring male dominance and superiority. All in all, this study delineates the plight of Indian women being the victims of male oppression and despotism, which routinely restricts women's autonomy, denies equality and identity. Thus, this paper accentuates the importance of women raising their voices in order to reclaim their identity.
Miss Twinkle Saha. “Reclaiming the Self and Identity: Deconstructing the Devastating Effect of Silence and the Dehumanising Impact of Marriage in Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 3, June 2026, pp. 391-407. DOI, https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n3.25.
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