Where the Historical Meets the Personal: A Cultural Materialistic Reading of Manju Kapur’s Difficult Daughters
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53724/ambition/v10n2.02Keywords:
Cultural materialism, Partition, Patriarchy, Gender Roles, Personal Identity, Social Expectations, Post-Colonial Literature, Historical Context, Female Autonomy, Subversion and ContainmentAbstract
This paper offers a cultural materialist reading of Manju Kapur’s Dificult Daughters, exploring the intersection of history and personal experience. Through the lives of three generation of women- Ida, Virmati, and Kasturi- the novel narrates the historical upheavals of India’s Partition, while offering an intimate portrayal of personal narration and historical reflection, Kapur critiques social conventions and examines the impact of national events on individual lives. This paper aims to demonstrate how Kapur’s narrative strategy not only reflects the socio-political conditions of the time but also challenges and critiques traditional gender roles, illustrating the complex dynamics between personal desires and social expectations.
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References
Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 3rd ed., Manchester UP, 2009
Eagleton, Terry. The English Novel: An Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, 2005.
Forster, E.M. Aspects of the Novel. Harcourt Brace, 1927.
Holderness, Graham. Cultural Materialism: The Sociology of Literature. University of London Press, 1985.
Kapur, Manju. Difficult Daughters. Penguine Books India, 1998.
William, Raymond. Culture and Society 1780-1950. Columbia UP, 1958.
William, Raymond. The Long Revolution. Chatto & Windus, 1961.
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