Socio-cultural Issues and Feminine Identity in Chitra Banerjee’s Sister of My Heart

Abstract

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novels delve into the dynamics of traditional Indian families and migrant families, focusing mostly on the female members of each. This dissertation examines Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Sister of My Heart with a particular emphasis on the novel's treatment of sociocultural issues in India. Her writing explores a wide range of identity-related themes, including estrangement, isolation, hopelessness, loss, nostalgia, reintegration, adoption, and assimilation. The most notable aspect of Divakaruni's Sister of My Heart is that she has choose to focus on seemingly ordinary people living both within and beyond the boundaries of the Indian social structure. This book's legendary structure aids in the development of a female-centric universe. As opposed to the more male, intellectual world, the mythical one is more naturally feminine. Divakaruni's novel follows a married couple through their ups and downs, and the novel's distinctive Indian food reflects India's diverse cultural heritage.