“The Other Within": A South Asian Women’s Perspective on Identity and Alienation in Migrant Narratives”

This paper investigates the themes of “otherness” and “alienation” in South Asian literature, focussing in particular on Monica Ali’s Brick Lane (2003), Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake (2003), and Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine (1989). These three texts foreground female characters who struggle with “otherness” to the point that it is internalised. However, each protagonist undergoes a distinctive character arc: in Brick Lane, Nazneen Ahmed’s identity undergoes a dramatic transformation process; Ashima Ganguli experiences alienation in The Namesake, while Jyoti searches to redefine her identity in Jasmine. These three characters grapple with the complications of discovering an existence between two worlds. Nazneen’s identity formation process in Brick Lane becomes a combative struggle between choice and duty. In this battle, she gains acceptance, but paradoxically, this only highlights her “otherness.” Her self-made “otherness” makes self-empowerment difficult and impedes her development. Ashima in The Namesake faces cultural dislocation, straddling Indian roots with American life. The differences between the old and new lives become more pronounced as Ashima becomes a mother in another land, leading to her estrangement. Conversely, Jyoti’s transformation in Jasmine is much less straightforward. Her transformative journey reveals the struggle of building a new identity, leading to empowerment alongside a fragmented sense of self. In a nuanced meditation on the dynamic interplay of individual desires and societal expectations, all characters must reckon with their sense of selfhood that is in conflict with the perceptions of others. Through analysing the fictional worlds of migrant female characters, I engage with the perennial struggle between individual and cultural identity and how it is dramatically foregrounded in diasporic literature. Ultimately, I highlight how South Asian women writers unearth the nuances of being a migrant woman and how the desire for identity and belonging drives their actions and decisions.

Keywords: Otherness, Alienation, South Asian women, Diaspora narratives, identity, migrant