ipl-logo

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Analysis

1724 Words7 Pages

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a famous Indian American author whose works mainly focus on the experiences of the South-Asian immigrants, and their related problems of adoption and adaption. She writes for adults as well as children and her fiction covers a wide spectrum of different genres like fantasy, realistic fiction, magical realism, and historical fiction. Divakaruni’s first notable attempt in the field of literature was a collection of stories Arranged Marriage (1995), which won an American Book award and many other prestigious awards. This collection of stories established Divakaruni’s literary reputation. Her major novels include The Mistress of Spices (1997), Sister of My Heart (1999), Queen of Dreams (2004), The Palace of Illusions (2008), and Oleander Girl (2013). Divakaruni’s The Palace of Illusions is a retelling of the great Indian epic Mahabharata from …show more content…

However, it is commonly attributed to Ved Vyas, who also appears as a character and narrator in the epic. Instead of a number of versions of Mahabharata, one common trait among all these versions is the dominance of patriarchy. It seems that Mahabharata has an androcentric set-up where the centre of attraction are only the male heroes. Though the epic consists of many powerful and charismatic women characters but it seems as if they play only a side role or roles that are subservient to the strong and virile men. The women characters are given attention only when their actions or deeds affect the lives of their male counterparts. The women characters in Mahabharata are given a ‘relational’ identity – an identity which is not independent, but dependent on someone else’s life. Their identities are not a ‘complete whole’ but are inter-relational. Other than that they live a shadowy life, living at the backstage. Divakaruni herself believes that the women characters in the epic

Show More
Related

  • Yusef Komunyakaa Analysis

    469 Words  | 2 Pages

    Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem and Stephen Crane's excerpt factor similar and different events throughout their stories. While Crane’s piece is written from one man’s point of view, Komunyakaa uses the collective voice of a group of soldiers. In Crane’s excerpt, it talks more about fighting, what’s happening and going on in the war. In the poem, it talks more about what the soldiers do to mask their feelings and their emotions to stay strong and not get distracted thinking of memories of family.

    Read More

  • Women's Role In When The Sun Was God

    682 Words  | 3 Pages

    The depiction individuals have of women has changed drastically over time. From being seen as a lower class gender, to having women politicians today, they have come a long way. Back in the 10th century when An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was God took place, the role of women differed immensely compared to the way women are portrayed today. Throughout the film, women are depicted as a weaker gender within society, although they can be rulers within their own families.

    Read More

  • The Tain: Gender Roles In Irish Literature

    1477 Words  | 6 Pages

    Gender role is basically an arrangement of societal standards directing what sorts of practices are by and large viewed as satisfactory, suitable or alluring for a man in view of their real or actual sex. In this paper I will focus on the gender roles with reference to the mini-epic” the tain” This piece of Irish literature presents a very good distinction between the old period and the medieval time period. Formerly, men were the protagonists, leaders or the saviors in the literature. A man had to go to the wars and fights, to preserve the territory and honor (women) was their duty.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Crucible And Frankenstein

    1494 Words  | 6 Pages

    How do male character shape or influence the texts in The Crucible and Frankenstein? “Power is nothing unless you can turn it into influence” (Unknown), it is human nature to want power and influence. The male characters in the following texts have achieved this goal. Society has portrayed males as dominant figures. Males govern the better positions in society whereas females generally do not.

    Read More

  • Education In A Thousand Splendid Suns

    1130 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hosseini illustrates the struggle of women and their endurance of being treated as second hand citizens through his female lead characters. An important theme he displays is the importance of education in woman and the effects it has on a

    Read More

  • Feminist Criticism In Othello

    1360 Words  | 6 Pages

    Furthermore, Feminist Criticism provides a better view of literature because it shows that women can be powerful. When Emilia finds out that her husband has been plotting an evil plan she says,” Tis proper I obey him, but not now”(Othello V.2.195). Emilia refuses to help her husband after she finds the cruel intentions he has despite the expectation of women always being submissive to their husbands. Women also have a voice and feelings, they are capable of defying their husbands commands when they know what he expects is simply wrong. In a literary article,The Role of Women in Othello: A Feminist Reading states that,” Society weighs heavily on the shoulders of women; they feel that they must support the men and defer to them, even if the actions of the men are questionable” (Literary Articles).

    Read More

  • Comparing Women In Macbeth And Homer's The Odyssey

    2082 Words  | 9 Pages

    Women have always been portrayed as the weaker sex compared to men. It has been demonstrated in history itself and throughout literary works. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Homer’s The Odyssey, however, portray women to be more powerful than men, even when their society thought otherwise and underestimated them because of their gender. Lady Macbeth, The Three Witches, Queen Arête and Penelope demonstrate the astute, charming, and ambitious side of women that was overlooked by men when it came to having power and making decisions.

    Read More

  • Sundiata Women Essay

    862 Words  | 4 Pages

    Women are depicted as “trophy” to men and nothing more. Throughout the epic a sense of bravado and machoism is played out, giving off a man’s world feeling which women and little or no real reason to be wanted. To understand the epic and the roles in which women played, one may not have to look further than how the book has been put together. First and foremost, the book is being told through the eyes of a man (good luck ladies).

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe

    990 Words  | 4 Pages

    The men in the novel always feel superior to the women and so, they obtain the more powerful roles while the women are assumed to abide by and admire them. They are perceived as strong and brave. The women are weak and inept. For example, Peter was always taken as the leader, the one who is trusted to lead the others. Edmund embodied the ultimate male trait – aggressiveness – which he uses to menace his siblings.

    Read More

  • The Mistress Of Spice Analysis

    1776 Words  | 8 Pages

    There is a transformation in the image of women characters in the last four decades. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is one of the famous contemporary Indian English writers. Her novels give

    Read More

  • The Objectification Of Women In Homer's The Iliad

    1333 Words  | 6 Pages

    Throughout The Iliad, Homer highlights the gender inequalities between Helen and her male counterparts Agamemnon, Achilles, and Paris. Homer accentuates the objectification of women through conflicts between male characters. In Book 1, the audience is first introduced to this idea in a speech by the King of Mycenae, Agamemnon. The mighty king demands, “I don 't want to see the army destroyed like this. But I want another prize ready for me right away.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Disney Movies Essay

    997 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the table 7, 10 out of 19 movies show that males are the dominant and powerful characters. There are few female characters featured in those movies are playing the minor roles and no female as the main characters in those movies. The male characters have high frequency of appearance in the film compared to the female characters. Men called more prevailing than the women which is capable to fight with evil roles.

    Read More

  • Roles Of Women In Mahabharata

    1811 Words  | 8 Pages

    Women in Mahabharata and Today’s Society Literature reflects the norms, condition, and culture of a society, and when it comes to “The Mahabharata”, an epic which is said to be a collection of stories taken over a certain period, certainly reflects the then society to a great extent. Generally, the authorship of “The Mahabharata (The Stories of the Descendants of Bharata)” is attributed to sage Vyasa. However, it was composed over many years and today’s Mahabharata is an edition of many a men. According to Monier Williams, “it is not one poem, but a compilation of many poems, not a Kavya by one author, but an Itihasa by many authors (Draupadi of Mahabharat: History of Women Empowerment, 230).” Many attempts has been taken till date to reveal the composition period of this epic and history behind it as it is granted as one of the most important scriptures from the view of World History which can give us more clear ideas of ancient Indian society.

    Read More

  • Woman At Point Zero Stereotypes

    1155 Words  | 5 Pages

    They say that history is written by the winners and well, most of the winners throughout history have been men. Due to this there is tale after tale of great male heroes braving impossible challenges, discovering new worlds, and just about any notable feat one could think of. Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero challenges every stereotype of heroic men and damsels in distress all while incorporating real life accounts of women in Egypt. Possibly one of strongest methods of breaking these stereotypes is they way men are represented. Women at Point Zero portrays men as a harmful, deceitful, breed through the eyes of the leading character Firdaus; this is done in order to shed light on the patriarchy and empower women.

    Read More

  • The Hunger Games Feminist Analysis

    1000 Words  | 4 Pages

    Feminist literary criticism’s primary argument is that female characters have always been presented from a male’s viewpoint. According to Connell, in most literary works, female characters often play minor roles which emphasize their domestic roles, subservience and physical beauty while males are always the protagonists who are strong, heroic and dominant (qtd. in Woloshyn et al.150). This means that the women are perceived as weak and are supposed to be under the control of men. Gill and Sellers say that feminist literary criticism’s approach involves identifying with female characters in order to challenge any male centred outlook.

    Read More

More about Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Analysis

Open Document