Chapter - 21
"The Intrusion"

- Shashi Despande

Question- Write a summary of the story 'The Intrusion'.

Answer - 

Introduction of the Story

"The Intrusion' is a story written by a very renowned Indian writer Shashi Deshpande. Her works are woman-centric narrative. This is a story about a newly married woman. This woman is the protagonist of the story and she tells her own story about the act of violation by her husband. The story revolves the consent of this woman. Her parents don't give importance to her consent before her marriage. Later, her husband also ignores her consent. Consequently, her husband intrudes into her 'privacy' and she can not protect herself from the intrusion into her body. The short story was published in the short story collection "The intrusion and other stories."

Theme This story begins with a trip. The narrator, along with her husband, crosses a fishing village and goes to the top of the steep uphill. At last, they reach their destination, a house on the hill top.

The newly married couple hardly knows each other. Therefore the narrator feels uneasy about her partner. Soon, silence predominates in the room between them. Therefore, to break the silence, her husband suddenly starts talking to her. He shares his feelings about trip. He feels fortunate for coming to the place as their honeymoon destination. He feels happiness here for complete privacy. On the other hand, she feels fears nervous at the thought of being alone with a strange man in a strange land.

The narrator feels very tired with the tedious long journey. Therefore, she relaxes in the chair, and she is lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, he breaks the silence asks her the reason of silence. She replies that she is tired. He comes closer and puts his arm around her firmly, which causes her uncomfortable. However, she pretends to act normal and gets up. She suggests to him they should go out to the Varanda since she wants to see the sea. But her husband tells her they should go in the morning as it is already dark.

Her husband approaches her again. He puts his arm around her waist and pulls her inside. Upon seeing the bed, she remembers her own narrow bed at home. She feels homesick.

However, her state of emotion does not bother him. He changes his dress in an excited manner. On the other hand, the narrator feels low and lonely. She sits quitely for a while, then dashes to the Varanda. She wishes to be anywhere in the world except in the strang place. When he does not find her in the room. He calls her to change her clothes. She follows his words unwillingly. She again opens the door to the Varanda. But he forbids her to go out. She reluctantly goes to him. He puts his arms around her tightly. The sudden and tight grip of his embrace makes her too uncomfortable. She struggles to get rid of his approaching rough chin. He tries to kiss her, but she averts her face and in the struggle, his glasses fall down. Her defiance makes her husband furious and he wants to know why she is avoiding him. Finally, she breaks the unbearable silence and says that they don't know each other. He is astonished to hear that. She wants to express her feelings that wants to know all about him. She can't say a word anymore because his fire look frightens her and she knows it is futile to express her feelings to him. Discontent fills his face and he lies still in the bed uttering nothing. After him, she also tries to sleep. At the midnight, she finds herself in a dreamy state. She is lying on the beach; she feels the waves are hitting her hard. When she comes into conciousness, she realizes that the sound of the sea is real, but it is not the wave, rather her husband is hitting her body. She makes an attempt by pushing his chest away from her body, but she fails. He has intruded into her private space.

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