SENSE OF ALIENATION IN ANITA DESAI’S CRY, THE PEACOCK

This paper is an attempt to explore the concept of feminine sensibility and quest for identity as it is reflected in Anita Desai's first novel ‘Cry the Peacock'. Anita Desai occupies a unique position among contemporary Indian novelists. The study of women's writing developed in the post independence period is considered an area of specialization in its own right. The female authors' experience of an anti-patriarchal rage is reflected in their writings. Anita Desai portrays various themes in her novels. The concentration of the author in ‘Cry the Peacock' is exclusively on woman's feelings and thoughts, her sufferings and struggle in a patriarchal society. Her portrayal of man-woman relationship is influenced and conditioned by complex social milieu. The novel is mainly concerned with the theme of marital incoherence between husband Gautama and wife Maya. The play is about Maya's cry for love and relationship in her loveless wedding with Gautama. The ‘Cry of Peacock' symbolizes Maya's agony for love and life. My paper attempts to study how Desai portrays feminine psyche of a common woman in the existing patriarchal society, and thus the paper would also like to focus on the deft handling of imagery, symbols and metaphors which enrich her art of characterization.