Interpretation In That Long Silence By Shashi Deshpande

Jaya the main protagonist in Shashi Deshpande’s novel “That Long Silence” decides to keep silence for seventeen long years. She is a middle-class woman who finds herself trapped in by society by being a good mother and a wife. In her search for identity Jaya lives with three identities as Jaya a struggling writer, Jaya the victor and Suhasini the name given by her husband which means happy wife that loves cleaning and undertaking wifely duties. In the Indian society, a man and woman learn from their elders that gender roles are assigned to a boy and girl. For Jaya, she lived the system of existentialism as she goes from self-confusion to self-realization. In this Jaya urges to find oneself, to create space and grow without support from anyone …show more content…
She realizes that she has been unjust to her writing and herself. She then questions the existence of a woman in a male dominated society. Deshpande realizes “Self-revelation is a cruel process” (TLS 1). And to identify herself, she, must be true to her own self. Jaya before marriage was hopeful this was brought out by her father “I named you Jaya”, ‘he said. “Jaya for victory”. However, he was the first to silence her in society by commenting on her taste for music, he said “What poor taste you have, Jaya” (TLS 3) and the shame she felt then survived long. This affect her marriage as she dared not confess to Mohan that she enjoyed watching the ads before the movie showed. Also, her mother does not support her in any way which makes her more frail, she prefers her sons over Jaya. These disappointments of her parents love and affection caused her to become …show more content…
There was a heavy silence between Jaya and her mother after her father’s death. She feels that “It was all her fault, I had thought; she had prepared me for none of the duties of a woman’s life.” (TLS 83). Although she longed for this support and nurture of her mother she, never approaches her mother for advice. And even though she believes that being a mother and looking after her children is safer, she knows that safety is unattainable. Mohan then goes on to attack Jaya saying “You’ve never been here. Servants, neighbors – you’ve grabbed at anyone, at any excuse to avoid me” (TLS116). He is now taking out his guilt and anger that has been lingering through them. This is a break of silence and she then breaks her silence accusing him of ending her writing career. It seems as if both knew how to be open with each other. Also, Mohan saying that she has never been there may suggest that he long for his wife to talk to, but Jaya was too busy blaming everyone around