I think that one of the fundamental themes of Mukherjee's
novel is that women can redefine themselves. This is demonstrated in Jasmine, herself.
The idea of a woman being locked into a role where freedom and autonomy are absent is
something that is challenged from the start of the novel. Jasmine is not contextually
challenged. She is able to use her freedom at different points to reimage her own life
in what she feels as desirable. She is able to escape an impoverished condition in
India, brought about by Partition riots that claimed the lives of millions, escapes to
America, survives harrowing conditions of economic and social challenge in a new world,
and finds herself in situations where physical and emotional hurdles present
themselves. In each of these contexts, the constant is Jasmine's sense of autonomy and
freedom. She is able to use freedom to define herself and her life. This becomes a
major theme in the work because it shows that Jasmine is not going to be victimized.
Whether it is through cultural means of silencing voice, physical threat of violence, or
emotional challenges, Jasmine is able to utilize freedom in all settings in order to
define herself and seek what she wishes in her life.
Monday, November 22, 2010
What is the overall theme of Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What is the meaning of the 4th stanza of Eliot's Preludes, especially the lines "I am moved by fancies...Infinitely suffering thing".
A century old this year, T.S. Eliot's Preludes raises the curtain on his great modernist masterpieces, The Love...
-
Reading the story carefully reveals the answer to your question. After the narrator had become possessed by "the fury of a ...
-
A helpful discussion of the plot structure of Oedipus Rex , which includes a useful chart, can be found here: ...
-
I think that one of the fundamental tenets of postcolonialism calls for a reevaluation of previously held beliefs and ideas. Fo...
No comments:
Post a Comment