Cultural Displacement, Diasporic Identity, and Family Relationships in the Works of Bharati Mukherjee

Abstract

Migration has become a defining feature of the contemporary world, making diasporic identity a central concern in modern literature. Bharati Mukherjee’s fiction offers a compelling exploration of the immigrant experience by examining the complex relationship between identity formation and family relationships. While previous scholarship has largely focused on diaspora and cultural identity, the role of family as an integral element in shaping immigrant identity has received comparatively limited attention. This study investigates the interrelationship between diasporic identity and family relationships in five of Mukherjee’s novels—The Tiger's Daughter, Wife, Jasmine, Desirable Daughters, and The Tree Bride. Employing a qualitative, interpretive approach based on close textual and thematic analysis, the research is informed by diaspora theory, postcolonial perspectives, cultural hybridity, identity theory, and feminist literary criticism. The findings reveal that Mukherjee presents identity as dynamic and continuously reconstructed through migration, while family evolves from a site of conflict and fragmentation to one of renewal and continuity. The study further demonstrates that identity transformation and familial reconfiguration are deeply interconnected, particularly through the experiences of women negotiating cultural, social, and personal transitions. It concludes that Mukherjee redefines the immigrant not merely as an exile but as an active agent of transformation, highlighting women's resilience in reconstructing both personal identity and family within changing transnational contexts.