INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD

Abstract: The present study examines marriage, modernity, and women’s freedom in Nayantara Sahgal’s This Time of Morning. The aim of the research is to explore the transformative role of women and their struggle for identity and freedom within a society caught between traditions and emerging modern values. It adopts a qualitative approach, closely analysing the text along with perspectives from post-independence Indian English literature to understand changing gender roles and social conditions. The study reveals that Sahgal presents marriage as a limiting institution that often suppresses a woman’s individuality, while her female characters challenge male dominance and strive for independence. It further observes that modernity in the novel goes beyond mere imitation of Western lifestyles but represents a quest for selfhood and intellectual freedom. The crisis between traditional values and modern ideas highlights the restrictions placed on women in both familial and societal frameworks. The study concludes that women’s liberation is an ongoing process of self-realisation, where freedom comes from breaking away from rigid norms and redefining their identity beyond predetermined roles.