Tradition and Modernity in Shashi Deshpande’s Roots and Shadows

Abstract

Shashi Deshpande is one of the eminent novelists in contemporary Indian English literature, who intricately explores the crisis of women caught between tradition and modernity. Her fiction often portrays urban, educated, middle class women struggling to assert individuality while simultaneously confronting familial and social obligations. Roots and Shadows (1983) is a quintessential family novel that depicts the tension within a traditional joint family structure, where Indu, the protagonist, experiences conflict between inherited customs and her personal quest for freedom. Through Indu’s return to her ancestral home and her encounters with Akka, Mini, Jayant and Naren, Deshpande illustrates how women grapple with patriarchal power, matriarchal authority and the contradictions of modern aspirations. The novel symbolically juxtaposes “roots” as tradition and “shadows” as marginality and disillusionment. Ultimately, Indu realises that liberation within a patriarchal society remains elusive and her struggle reflects the broader dilemma of contemporary Indian women negotiating between past traditions and modern identity.