Women Writers and the Portrayal of Women in British Indian Fiction

FAIN: HB-50437-14

Susmita Roye
Delaware State University (Dover, DE 19901-2202)

I plan to complete the three remaining chapters of my book manuscript. This book project will concentrate on early Indian women's fiction in English, evaluating their contribution to the rise of Indian Writing in English, and how they reassessed and challenged stereotypes about Indian womanhood, generated by both the British rulers and the Indian patriarchy. Among other questions, in the late 19th century, when India was only forming a vague idea of her nationhood and was increasingly portrayed in terms of femaleness (via the figure of an enchained "Mother India"), what role did women and their literary endeavors play in shaping both their nation and their femininity/feminism? How and how far did these pioneering authors use fiction as a tool of protest against and resistance to the Raj and/or patriarchy, and in expressing gender-based solidarity? How do they view and review the stereotypes about their fellow-women, and thereby 'mother' India by redefining their image?

Associated Products

Mothering India: Women's Fiction in English Shaping Cultural History (1890-1947) (Book)
Title: Mothering India: Women's Fiction in English Shaping Cultural History (1890-1947)
Author: Susmita Roye
Abstract: Mothering India concentrates on early Indian women's fiction, not only evaluating their contribution to the rise of Indian Writing in English (IWE), but also exploring how they reassessed and challenged stereotypes about Indian womanhood, thereby partaking in the larger debate about social reform legislations relating to women's rights in British India.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/title/mothering-india-womens-fiction-in-english-shaping-cultural-history-1890-1947/oclc/1162842112&referer=brief_results
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780190126254
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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