Voices of Resistance and Conformity: Gender and Familial Tensions in Anita Desai’s Novel

Abstract

"Voices in the City" stands out as a key book by Anita Desai. It looks at how women live and struggle in Calcutta after India gained independence. The book also shows the deep feelings and mind games within a family. The theme of the novel is suggested quite early in the novel by Nirode himself in his conversation with David. He quotes Albert Camus:

In default of inexhaustible happiness eternal suffering at least would give us a destiny. But we do not have even that consolation, and our worst agonies, come to an end one day.(Desai,40)

 We follow three brothers and sisters—Monisha, Amia, and Nirode Ray—as they try to figure out who they are and where they fit in society. Their mom Otima, plays a big part in their lives. Her impact shows up in what they think and do. Calcutta itself feels almost like a character in the story. It's a lively non-stop force that pushes the characters to look inside themselves, to rebel, and to change. The story weaves together issues like unfair treatment of women, family bonds, and big life questions. This creates a gripping look at Indian culture after British rule ended. It is interesting to see what Lionel Trilling says about the function of the novel in general. He says that “The novel is a perpetual quest for reality---the field of its research being always the social world, the material of its analysis being always manners as the indication of the direction of man's soul?” (205)