Search for Happiness in Shashi Deshpande’s Novel “Roots and Shadows”

Abstract

The present paper is an attempt to study the search for happiness in Shashi Deshpande’s novel Roots and
Shadows. The wives in Shashi Deshpande's novels are the ones who treasure extramarital relationships and look
for 'fulfilment' in such behaviour, whereas the husbands never seem to want them. Instead of empowering
women, this reduces their sense of worth. Shashi Deshpande's Roots and Shadows is a novel that delves deep
into the psyche of its protagonist, Indu, who stands in for a class of educated, socially active modern women
struggling with issues such as romantic love, sexual desire, the pursuit of personal fulfilment, marriage,
establishing roots, and finding one's own identity.