SOCIAL CONSTRUCT OF WOMEN IN ORTHODOX INDIAN SCENARIO – AN ANALYSIS OF ANITA NAIR’S LADIES COUPE

Abstract

Fiction is a prose narrative in the form of a book, mostly exemplifying the characters and actions with some degree of pragmatism. The Indian novel in English evolved in the last hundred and fifty years and has contributed significantly to world literature through the works of prominent authors who have achieved international recognition. Anita Nair, Indian Author, is one of the prominent contemporary writers of Indian English Literature. She typically edges on issues associated with women's liberation due to the rising consciousness of the significance of distinctiveness. The compact with the quandary of the contemporary woman regarding issues similar to feminism, child sexual abuse, isolation, alienation, identity crisis, or just the existential crisis of struggling to be herself. The present research paper attempts to discuss the social construct of women in an Indian social orthodox scenario in the novel Ladies Coupe. The main character is Akhilandeshwari. She relates her story in fragments while listening to the experiences of the other five ladies in the compartment, trying to find a solution to the dilemma that has troubled her entire life: "Can a woman be happy without a man, or does she need a man to feel complete?" The author uses the literary device of "flashback". The story jumps back and forth between the past and the present, showing us glimpses of women who are humiliated and debased in addition to the five women in the compartment.