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@article{192642,
        author = {Vishnupriya. R.K and Dr. S. Lavanya},
        title = {Comparative Study of Gender Politics and Silenced Voices in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and That Long Silence by Sashi Deshpande},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {9},
        pages = {1852-1858},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=192642},
        abstract = {Women’s experiences have been shaped by systems of power that include identity, voicelessness that limit autonomy across and beyond the cultures. This paper presents a comparative feminist analysis of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence. This study focuses on the representation of women’s silence, subjugation, and quest for self-identity within patriarchal societies from the perspective of Postmodern Feminism. Drawing on Postmodern Feminist thinkers such as Judith Butler and Julia Kristeva, the study explores these texts within the discourse of identity politics and resistance, highlighting how self-realisation emerges through the disruption of patriarchal language and by reclaiming their suppressed voice. In both the novels the authors examine how gendered oppression operates through familial, social, and cultural structures that restrict women’s voice and choice. In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison portrays the tragic struggle against internalised racism, sexual exploitation, and societal ideals of beauty that deny self-worth through the character Pecola Breedlove. Similarly, in That Long Silence, Deshpande’s protagonist Jaya confronts the constraints of marriage and domestic expectations, wherein silence becomes the symptoms of repression and a potential space for introspection. Despite their different cultural contexts, Morrison and Deshpande converge in their critique of patriarchal domination and in their portrayal of women’s gradual movement toward self-awareness and articulation. The study highlights how both novels expose the psychological, emotional, and social dimensions of female oppression while affirming the transformative power of voice and self-realisation.},
        keywords = {Feminist criticism, Patriarchy, Comparative literature.},
        month = {February},
        }