The role of a woman and the negation in Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee - Book Report/Review Example

s The role of a woman and the negation of the society’s expectations in Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee It is a well-known fact that the formation of identity is an integral part of every human being. Throughout the history, the role of a woman was determined by the society. That is why, for women the challenge of finding a place for themselves was much difficult. This paper concentrates on the study of the experiences of the main female protagonist and narrator of Bharati Mukherjee’s novel – an immigrant girl called Jasmine, who faces various prejudices of the society and tries to undergo them in order to assert her right to become a part of the American society. The young woman comes across the expectations of society, sometimes respecting the limits of socially accepted behavior, and sometimes neglecting them. Speaking about the role of Jasmine as a woman, in the homeland it is seen through the lenses of the strict patriarchal Indian society in terms of which the life of a woman is controlled and dominated by the males. However, the things change in the United States of America, where she comprehends her true potential of being a woman. The aim of this paper is to explore Jasmine’s path, the changing of her role as a woman and her relation with the society’s generally accepted principles. In Mukherjee’s novel, the main character is searching for identity as well as her true self. However, the search was not caused by migration; it started on the day the girl was born. Hence, it appears that Jyoti was born in the Indian village of Hasnapur. More than that, she was the fifth daughter in the large family having nine children. Sadly, the girl was the seventh and unwanted child. When she was little, Jyoti was nearly strangled to death because her parents wanted to make their daughter free from the issues connected with marriage in India. The girl was saved but this was forever engraved in her memory: “I survived the sniping. My grandmother may have named Jyoti, light but in surviving I was already Jane, a fighter and adapter” (Mukherjee, 1999, p. 40). This very situation demonstrates the girl’s strong will to live, her strength of mind and capacity to struggle for her happiness, overcome the difficulties as well as that to find her calling and true self. It is also worth noting that Jasmine never forgot the experiences and life lessons of her childhood. On the contrary, the girl tried her best to preserve these memories. In actual fact, they played the role of the instrument in the struggle against destiny and the search for her identity. One more interesting fact is that a foreteller once predicted the future of a widow and exile. Nevertheless, she was not thrown into confusion by her fate. Despite society’s expectations, Jyoti has always intended to get rid of some blind beliefs and superstitions. All the lines of her character, all her actions show that she is fully confident of her potential. Moreover, the young woman learnt to witness “permissible rebellion” against certain standards established by the society and take full advantage of them (Mukherjee, 1999, p. 47). In that way, it becomes clear to the reader that Jyoti is unique by nature and quite different from the other girls from her village having no opinion of their own. As opposed to them, Jyoti knows beyond doubt what she desired to do and how she wanted to live her life. Thus, she claims, “I know what I don’t want to become” (Mukherjee, 1999, p. 5). Really, not looking at the strength along with determination characteristic of her, Jasmine has permanently encountered various risks, dangers, challenges and misunderstandings during the course of her life. And despite the fact that she had an ability to comprehend certain ideas concerned with power and control, it should be also stresses that the girl was cultured by the Indian society, which she once belonged to as she was born in it. Taking into account this fact, it becomes evident that it is the main reason why Jasmine tries to keep her true nature from the others and live the life according to the images and principles fashioned by the society. In her book, Mukherjee depicts an interesting scene that serves as a perfect example of it. Thus, the girl’s father states that “bright ladies are bearing bright sons, that is nature’s design” (Mukherjee, 1999, p. 51). A young girl refuses to accept it so she says to him the following in order to clarify her ambition: “I want to be a doctor and set up my own clinic in a big town. Like the moustached doctor in the bazaar clinic, I wanted to scrape off cataracts, fit plastic legs on stumps, work miracles” (Mukherjee, 1999, p. 51). The reaction of the father is not surprising: “The girl is mad! I’ll write in the back of the dictionary: the girl is mad!” (Mukherjee, 1999, p. 51). From this it follows that Jyoti is not going to abide by the circumstances and accept the inevitable prescribed by the society. In that way, she passes all bounds of “normal behavior” fixed by it. One of the significant acts leveled against the expectations of the society is marriage to a young man with quite modern views on life and the role of a female in the society. His name is Prakash Vijh, he is a student and he does not accept the generally accepted concept of an Indian wife serving her husband and giving birth to numerous children. That is why, in order “to break off the past,” Prakash gives her name Jasmine and helps his wife to mold the character of a modern woman, who is not burdened with the traditional beliefs of the Indian feudalistic society. After her husband’s death, Jasmine decides to in-migrate to the United States in order to be completely free from the established order in Hasnapur. However, she faces the reverse side of the American Dream – the American way to categorize people. After the girl has been raped by captain of the ship, she uses violence to manifest the conflict she is actually facing. Thus, it appears that the murder of Half-Face symbolizes Jasmine’s reborn. Indeed, it should regarded as a starting point in the girl’s life, when she arrives at a decision to move away from her native country and the naïve monotony of the past. Later a young woman meets a banker, Bud Wipplemeyer. This time she is given the name of Jane. In that way, he encourages Jasmine to change the role of a caregiver for that of a temptress whenever she wants to. It becomes evident that he regards Jane’s sexuality through the perspective of some oriental fantasy of his own. So, he does not defame her nature of being a woman. On the contrary, he contributes to the development of her sexual confidence. Speaking about her racial identity and her life in Baden, the reader sees that it is clearly recognized, though not really understood and clearly acknowledged. Still, the community makes an attempt to see Jane as someone familiar, but not a stranger from distant lands or just an immigrant. From this it follows that the newly applied perception of the woman’s racial background is considered to be an integral part of her identity in the role of Jane. Now she feels to be integrated into the society and gradually turns into the typical American woman she has always dreamed to be. Having feeling of being free, she sees nothing wrong in leaving Bud and go to California. Until this very moment, she has been serving the duty towards the other people, but now she has come to the understanding that she has to think about herself first. In this connection the woman stresses, “The moment I have dreamed a thousand times finally arrives” (Mukherjee, 1999, p. 237). More than that, she claims that love does not play crucial role in her choice: “I am not choosing between two men. I am caught between the promise of America and old-world dutifulness” (Mukherjee, 1999, p. 240). As a strong woman, she gives a clear answer to her bravery and has no oppressive feeling of guilt. She just wants to do what she would consider to be the right thing for herself. In any way, “The world is divided between those who stay and those who live” (Mukherjee, 1999, p. 228). To conclude, I should point out that Bharati Mukherjee’s novel Jasmine should be first of all regarded as a movement of a young woman’s life towards understanding of her true self. Jasmine’s life in the Indian village as well as her journey to the United States show that it is hard to be a woman, it is twice as hard to be an immigrant woman. Still, she proves that it is possible despite all the difficulties. Thus, even when Jasmine goes through the worst life experiences, she is still capable of coming through the obstacles appearing on her way, achieving self-awareness, overthrowing the past life by breaking stereotypes and ignoring the existing social order and other people’s expectations. At every step she makes, Jasmine appears to be a winner. In such a way, the woman does not give the obstacles the permit to let her down, realizes he dreams as well as finds her place in the society. To me, she is a perfect example of a true feminist fighting every life’s challenge in order to live a happy life in the society that sometimes can be cruel. Finally, Jasmine comes to a conclusion that her true self-identity does not imply the choice of being either an Indian wife and mother or an American independent woman. It has much profound meaning as it relates to the inner spirit of an individual as well as their free choice to live in peace with their nature. Works Cited Mukherjee, Bharati. Jasmine. New York: Groove Press, 1999. Print. Read More