The Dark Holds No Terror narrates the story of a marriage on the rocks. The protagonist Saritha is a successful lady doctor. The discord and the disillusionment of the educated woman in a tradition bound 'Indian Society' is the theme of the novel. There is the ultimate realization at the end after a stretched mental predicament and a long drawn introspection. Women's quest for self exploration is the principal theme of this novel. In an interview, the author reveals that all her characters are

more »

... oncerned with their 'selves' and they learn to be honest to themselves. The novels of Shashi Deshpande are about women's self quest and struggle to free themselves from the restrictions imposed by society, culture and nature. It is a story about a doctor who is disappointed as a daughter as the rapport between her and her mother is little bit strained. She is unable to identify herself as a beloved daughter to her mother and when she grows up she is unable to be attractive enough to be a beautiful young maiden having rapturous power. And so she realizes that what she is as a girl is not what that makes her. She understands that what she is to become is going to give her the identity that she is searching for. She realizes that becoming is productivity which means making life feasible and pleasant, and comfortable for others, and so she selects the avenue of medicine. She is a child with a lot if curiosity which is reflected in her playfulness, visiting friends and out door games. This is very obvious when she roams around the mango groove.