Marital violence differs from other forms of violence precisely because it does not appear suddenly between strangers, but always within the framework of a privileged relationship where the equations between the two people are not evenly balanced. This kind of relationship implies the use of power, physical strength, threa t and intimidation. Authors work feminist issues into their themes when they question the role of the family in controlling and oppressing women. The needs and sensibilities of the women in the family are not considered a priority , or even legitimate. Lite rature is often concerned with outrages on an individual or the hidden violence within intimate relationships. In this essay I will show some instances of such violence from some selected Bengali short stories. For this I am indebted to Sutapa Bhattcharya’s enlightening article on ‘Women and Violence in Bangla Short Stories ’ published in the book ‘Women, Heritage and Violence’ edited by Shefali Moitra