Voicing The Silenced: Care Ethics And Intersectional Identity In The Feminist Reimaginings Of Jaya And Sita

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study of care ethics and Intersectionality in Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence (1988) and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Forest of Enchantments (2019). Both novels explore the emotional and moral dimensions of caregiving within patriarchal contexts. Sita’s roles as daughter, wife, and mother in The Forest of Enchantments reveal the undervaluation of care labor and the ethical weight of empathy and compassion. In contrast, That Long Silence portrays Jaya’s internal conflict between personal aspirations and traditional caregiving expectations, exposing the psychological toll of gendered roles. By applying Intersectionality, this study examines how the protagonists’ identities shaped by gender, class, and familial roles inform their caregiving experiences. Care ethics provides a lens to understand the relational and moral significance of their actions. Through this dual framework, the paper highlights how both authors challenge patriarchal norms and advocate for a deeper recognition of care labor and women’s resilience in literature.