Cry the Peacock- A study of feminine existence

Abstract

The feminists aim at putting an end to male domination and for achieving this goal they have to destroy the structure of culture as we know it the feminists believe that women should struggle for their social and economic freedom. They should try to end female exploitation. Many Indian novelists focus on women's situation in the Indian society. Anita Desai is one of the leading voices who have given the inner description of the woman's inner world, her sensibility, her sulking frustration and the storm raging inside her mind. The central theme of her novels is the existential predicament of woman as an individual. The very concept that women need something more than just food, clothes and accommodation is aptly illustrated in this novel. The hyper sensitive mind of the women is illustrated by Desai in the most tender way where the atmosphere of tension is set ideally against the backdrop of a sultry Indian summer. The oppression and depression, the anxiety and fear, the frustration and foiling of the female protagonist set against a typical Indian scenario brings out the very best of the writer in a coherent way.  Cry, the Peacock gives expression to the long smothered sad cry of the wounded psyche, the harrowing tale of blunted human relationship being told by the chief protagonist herself. The novel presents the story of a young sensitive girl obsessed by a childhood prophecy of disaster.