Psychological Journey of Women in the Novels of Mary Gordon

This book is a study emphasising Gordon’s goal of empowering women through Self-Realization in her novels. Hence her views on women have been taken up to be read through a feminist and psychological framework. Gordon’s consistent use of female characters is symbolic of her contribution towards feminist literature and the parity that she wishes her characters to achieve. This study attempts to analyse the lives of modern American women as dealt with by Gordon in the novels selected for study. It attempts (1) to trace how women emerge out of their claustrophobic space into a new found freedom; (2) to explore the reasons for their crisis; (3) to examine the way women attain the state of Self-Realization and (4) to bridge the gulf between Gordon’s novels and women’s issues. It is an eye-opener to women themselves as to how Gordon has focussed on the various issues of a family set up and the subsequent realization of her women characters – the realization of ‘Self’ for a better future.