Top Five Books That Inspire Women

THE SECOND SEX By Simone de Beauvoir

Through her analytically objective gaze,this French existentialist philosopher tells us at her own pace just why women have remained the secondary sex.The solutions to transcend the secondary position are all there in the book.It is up to us to understand,acknowledge and act accordingly.

A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN By Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf,in this slim little book,has inspired many a woman into either getting in touch with her talent or making the best use of that talent.A dispassionate narrative penned under the many constraints put on a woman,Woolf relates her perspective warmly.

GONE WITH THE WIND By Margaret Mitchell

Based on the life and experiences of Scarlett O’Hara,this romantic novel charts her journey from adolescence to adulthood.The Bildungsroman technique been used by the author to depict the narrative which is teeming with vividly etched characters.We know Scarlett’s proneness for tantrums and her whims.Though others have followed in this Southerner’s wake,none have been quite like the object of Rhett Butler’s affections.

How many women have taken refuge behind the comfort in the words,“Tomorrow is another day”?

More than we can count certainly!

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE By Jane Austen

Truly a classic read,this novel appeals to all till date.The Bennet family could well be ours with the bookworm,the staid,the sensible and the flighty sibling.While most women sympathize with Elizabeth,most mothers understand why Mrs.Bennet is so desperate!As far as Mr.Darcy goes,don’t we just love the way he sheds all those layers to be revealed as yet another vulnerable male?

Draupadi By Mahasweta Devi

From Breast Stories (Translated into English by Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak. Seagull, Calcutta, 1997)

One of the most powerful tales ever told by a writer who needs no introduction, it depicts the oppression,harassment and torture that Dopdi Mehejen,a rebel faces.Set among the tribals in West Bengal,this story shows a woman who fights back despite being subjugated by the government that uses means like kidnapping,murder and rape,portraying the tribal deaths in custody as “accidents”.The book lays bare the soul of Dopdi Mehejen.Any resemblance to the Draupadi of the Mahabharata is,of course, more than coincidental.