From Subjugation To Self-Determination: The Story Of Sumi

Abstract

Shashi Deshpande focuses on the problems faced by middle-class women and their quest for identity in A Matter of Time. The novel, like her other novels, explores female subjugation. Sumi is the victim of patriarchal oppression. She is deserted by her husband, but she courageously comes out of desolation. She breaks the shackles of patriarchy and achieves self-sufficiency. Sumi is completely different from the earlier protagonists of Shashi Deshpande like Indu, Sarita, and Jaya, She does not reunite with her husband like the other protagonists. She moves in her own way and takes family responsibilities into her hands. She gives much importance to the role of mother rather than a wife. As a mother Sumi evolves from desertion and helps her teenage children Aru, Charu and Seema to come to their lives as before. Shashi Deshpande’s earlier protagonists get refuge in their parental homes for gaining confidence but Sumi decides to face the situation alone after being deserted by her husband. At the age of forty, she starts a new journey for her children, gradually asserts and fulfills her life with her hidden talents. Her husband leaves her after twenty three years of married life, but she faces the situation boldly and evolves as a self-reliable woman.  Shashi Deshpande explores through the character of Sumi how a woman can be self-reliant in her life despite the odd situations that prevailed in society.