he paper critically analyses Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai’s Chemmeen. It mainly deals with the struggle and the tragedy of the poor  sher woman Karuthamma and the tradition of  shermen community in Kerala. The central theme of the novel Chemmeen is myth making. The myth is about chastity. The  sherman passed the myth of chastity from generation to generation with strong belief. Then it also talks about the love affair of the protagonist Karuthamma. Chemmeen is not only a story of tragic young love but raises issues of individual morality and action, economic condition and social belief. Chemmeen is a realistic  ctional tragedy which focuses on the life style of  shermen folk in Kerala, the south part of India. The incidents of the novel are as realistic as it happens in the real life of poor  shermen in India.