Shashi Deshpande in the last decade of the 20th century holds great worth as an Indian English woman novelist.She is also known as a realist who has presented real pictures of the middle class of that decade.She is the only Indian woman author who has made an attempt to give a voice to the disappointment and frustration of Indian women. Her contribution to the world of fiction related to the conditions of Indian women is very significant. She knows well that Indian women have been the subject of suppression for a very long time.Being a realist,the novelist has depicted the weaknesses and shortcomings of both the males and females. The women characters in the novels of Shashi Deshpande depict such reality. Their voice is doomed in long silence. Sumi, the protagonist of the novel, A Matter of Time, is a female character who, too, suffers a lot due to her desertion by her husband without any valid reason.She is left alone to suffer with three young daughters in this wide world. The present paper intends to focus on the predicament of the women characters of the novel.
Research Scholar, P.G. Department of English and Research Centre, Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya
