Synopsis In this book, Vijay Sheshadri looks at the way Margaret Laurence and Shashi Deshpande indict the phallocentric methods of fe/male objectification and also highlights the manner in which these two novelists present women characters who in various ways defy such methods of male objectification. By comparing writers from different countries, cultures and traditions, the book points that there exists a cross-gender representativeness, providing insights into distinctive ways in which each writer envisions a subject. By addressing itself to the intrinsic connectedness and preoccupations vis-?-vis diverse cultural contexts, Beyond the Walls examines to what extent cultures, imperialism, history are de-naturalized within the context of the marginal and the liminal in the "First world" and "Non-first world" scenario.Vijay Sheshadri’s book exhibits a sense of unity and a holistic pattern. The book stresses on this fact-through the struggle to partake the process of individuation, the heroines of Laurence and Deshpande become permanent parts of a larger structure of symbolic meaning. The reader too becomes a part of this ensemble.Beyond the Walls compels the readers to reconsider expectations regarding femininity.