The Rebellion of Modern Womanhood: Challenging Patriarchal Expectations in the Novel SANA

"Frailty, thy name is woman!"
-William Shakespeare'
Hamlet, Act-I Scene-II
The rebellion of modern women in the post-modern novelist Vikas Sharma's novel SANA is
critically examined in this research paper, with particular attention paid to how the
protagonist, Sana, defies patriarchal expectations. The protagonist of the novel, Sana,
represents a kind of resistance against the inflexible, oppressive systems imposed by a
patriarchal culture through her adulterous affair and rejection of customary duties. Sana's
character, which is divided between her responsibilities as a wife and her pursuit of personal
fulfillment, is examined in depth in this research. The paper illustrates the emergence of
female autonomy and agency by drawing comparisons between the protagonist's experiences
and those of women portrayed in classical Indian literature. In order to uncover underlying
prejudices and the difficulties in portraying contemporary womanhood, the author's narrative
techniques—such as the sexualization of female characters and the representation of
patriarchal motherhood—are closely examined. In the end, this research contends that
although SANA presents a progressive picture of women's insurrection, it still solidifies some
stereotypes, indicating the ongoing fight for gender equality in modern literature.