This article explores the theme of cultural conflict and the female self in Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence and Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss. Both novels present women protagonists who struggle to define their identities within restrictive cultural frameworks shaped by patriarchy, tradition, colonial history, and modernity. The study examines how cultural norms, social expectations, and emotional conditioning influence women’s inner lives and suppress their voices.

In That Long Silence, Deshpande portrays Jaya, a middle-class Indian woman whose identity is shaped by silence, obedience, and marital duty. Her cultural conflict arises from the patriarchal expectation that women should sacrifice individuality for family harmony. Silence becomes both a social obligation and a psychological burden, gradually eroding Jaya’s sense of self. Her growing awareness of this imposed silence marks the beginning of her journey toward self-realisation and self-expression.

In The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai presents Sai, a young woman living in a postcolonial, globalised society. Sai’s cultural conflict is rooted in displacement, hybridity, and emotional uncertainty. Educated in Western values yet living within Indian social realities, she exists between cultures and struggles to achieve emotional belonging. Her experiences reflect the impact of colonial legacy and cultural fragmentation on female identity.

Through a comparative approach, the article highlights how both protagonists confront different forms of cultural conflict—domestic patriarchy in Deshpande and postcolonial dislocation in Desai. Despite these differences, both novels reveal that the female self is shaped through continuous negotiation with culture. The study concludes that cultural conflict, though oppressive, becomes a catalyst for self-awareness, enabling women to question imposed roles and move toward autonomy, voice, and identity.