QUEST FOR IDENTITY: A STUDY OF MANJU KAPOOR’S DIFFICULT DAUGHTERS

Manu wrote the Manusmrati in around 185 B.C. and created laws for the society. The laws that he created have governed the Indian social and cultural system since then. We all know the role of the ancient narratives in the creation of psychology of a society. Manusmrati has guided and controlled the Indian culture for long. Women have suffered the patriarchal structure of society, because the collective psychological mind set considered women lower than men, and thus the need to control, regulate women's life in every sphere. Though Manu's infamous laws belong to the past, but Modern Indian society is still based on such patriarchal system. Today also, they are under terrible triad of father-husband-son. They are still subordinated to men. They are still devalued and subjugated. Today, they are not only overburdened with family responsibilities, but also suffered the prejudices in professional life. Women are forced to compromise and tolerate injustice silently. Gender discrimination is still present in this Modern India today. In this study, I have tried to analyze the stories of different female characters who suffer from marginalization and subjugation from the point of view of society that functions under the patriarchal ideology.