Women’s Writing by Dr. Sandhya Lakhmi and Dr. Bibha Devi is a well-structured and comprehensive textbook designed specifically for B.A. English (Honours) 5th Semester students studying under the FYUGP NEP 2020 and CBCS framework. The book explores the rich and diverse field of women’s literary expression across time, genres, and cultures, highlighting the role of women as both creators and subjects in literature.

It offers critical insights into how gender, identity, and social structures influence women’s voices in poetry, prose, fiction, and drama. The text integrates classical and contemporary readings, equipping students with interpretative skills and theoretical frameworks to analyse women’s experiences, representation, and empowerment in literature.

Key Features:

• Syllabus-Aligned Content: Covers the complete syllabus for 5th Semester English (Honours) as prescribed under the FYUGP/NEP/CBCS structure.

• Comprehensive Literary Coverage: Includes selections from Indian and Western women writers, spanning poetry, short stories, novels, essays, and plays.

• Feminist Perspectives: Discusses major themes like patriarchy, gender roles, identity, sexuality, resistance, and redefinition of womanhood.

• Critical Contextualization: Introduces students to key feminist theories and thinkers that shaped women’s writing across different literary periods.

• Analytical & Student-Friendly Approach: Each chapter includes contextual introductions, author biographies, critical commentary, thematic analysis, and review questions.

• Relevant for Higher Studies: Useful not only for B.A. English Honours students but also for M.A. English, Gender Studies, and Comparative Literature learners. 

  Contents

  UNIT I: POETRY (Pages 17–70)

  • Confessional Mode in Women’s Writing

  • Lady Lazarus

  • Advice to Women

  • Bequest

  • I Cannot Live with You

  • I’m “Wife” – I’ve Finished That

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  UNIT II: NOVEL (Pages 71–86)

  • The Color Purple

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  UNIT III: SHORT STORIES (Pages 87–112)

  • The Yellow Wallpaper

  • Bliss

  • Draupadi

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  UNIT IV: ESSAY / MEMOIR (Pages 113–148)

  • A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects

  • A Testimony of Our Inexhaustible Treasures

  • General Topics

  • Sexual Politics

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  UNIT V: AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Pages 149–160)

  • Amar Jiban (1876) — The First Bengali Autobiography Written by a Woman