September 23, 2025

Bridging East and West: Decoding Identity and Cultural Displacement in the Fiction of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Key Points

Divakaruni navigates identity and cultural displacement, redefining it as a fluid construct in her narratives.
Selected works demonstrate the tensions between Eastern heritage and Western modernity, highlighting hybridity.
This analysis employs postcolonial theory and feminist criticism to situate Divakaruni's work in a global context.
Exploration of the characters' struggles contributes to discourse on South Asian diasporic literature.

Abstract

This paper examines the ways in which Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s fiction engages with the complexities of identity, cultural displacement, and the diasporic negotiation between Eastern heritage and Western modernity. Through a comparative literature lens, this study analyses selected works—Arranged Marriage (1995), The Mistress of Spices (1997), The Palace of Illusions (2008), and Oleander Girl (2013)—to highlight how Divakaruni navigates the tensions of hybridity, alienation, and belonging. The research situates her narratives within the broader discourse of East–West comparative studies, drawing from postcolonial theory, feminist criticism, and diaspora studies. Employing Homi Bhabha’s concept of the ‘Third Space’ and Avtar Brah’s theorisation of the diaspora, this study demonstrates how Divakaruni’s characters oscillate between inherited cultural traditions and the realities of life in a globalised world. The paper argues that Divakaruni not only narrates the struggles of immigrant women but also redefines identity as a fluid, negotiated, and hybrid construct. This exploration contributes to the growing scholarship on comparative literature by bridging South Asian diasporic narratives with global literary discourse.

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