Introduction
Manju Kapur is one of the most distinguished Indian English writers of the contemporary times. She has been able to make a mark with her five novels written in the last two decades. Her stories mostly hover over frustrations, refusals, retaliations and breach of conventional expectation. The Immigrant, published in 2008, is her fourth novel. With her profound understanding of human nature, Kapur discusses a wide range of issues in this work of hers. Commenting on the themes of the novel, Anupama Chowdhury (2010) observes, “socio-political problems of contemporary life portrayed in terms of individual’s quest for identity and freedom along with a sensitive handling of issues like gender, sexuality and diaspora make The Immigrant …show more content…
Nina is a teacher of English literature at the prestigious Miranda House. She has a flourishing academic career. She is depicted as still youthful looking and pretty for thirty. She is well educated and financially independent. She is cultured, well read and eloquent. But her mother Mrs Batra is desperate as her daughter has crossed the Indian marriageable age. Though Nina is sometimes bogged down by her mother’s expectations, yet “education was a gift and she would not exchange the life of the mind for any humdrum marriage” (Kapur, …show more content…
Her husband’s indifference towards her problem aggravates her frustration. She is further disappointed when she comes to know about Ananda’s sexual therapy which he had hidden from her. She has already lost her job and her home. She cries, “I miss home – I miss my job – I miss doing things. I feel like a shadow. What am I but your wife?” (233) Nina’s loneliness drives her back to books and she opts for a part time job in a library. She also decides to go for a degree in Library Science which is her first step towards autonomy. This decision gives her an identity other than that of an Indian dentist’s wife. Nina, who earlier used to see the shadowy figure of her own child, talk of motherhood, infertility treatments, was anxiously waiting to be pregnant and whom her husband regarded conservative now adapts herself to the new country’s requirement. Her course and getting a job become her priority. Nina desperately strives to adapt to the novel environment. And in doing so she transgresses the borders of sexual ethics. Commenting on the husband-wife relationship in the novel Bharati Khairnar states, “Manju Kapur presents an absorbing study of several psychological factors which contribute to a barren marital relationship between Nina and Ananda. Intimacy, passion and commitment which form the bedrock of a marital relationship, are conspicuous by their absence in the couple’s relationship as a result of which their
Manju Kapur is one of the most distinguished Indian English writers of the contemporary times. She has been able to make a mark with her five novels written in the last two decades. Her stories mostly hover over frustrations, refusals, retaliations and breach of conventional expectation. The Immigrant, published in 2008, is her fourth novel. With her profound understanding of human nature, Kapur discusses a wide range of issues in this work of hers. Commenting on the themes of the novel, Anupama Chowdhury (2010) observes, “socio-political problems of contemporary life portrayed in terms of individual’s quest for identity and freedom along with a sensitive handling of issues like gender, sexuality and diaspora make The Immigrant …show more content…
Nina is a teacher of English literature at the prestigious Miranda House. She has a flourishing academic career. She is depicted as still youthful looking and pretty for thirty. She is well educated and financially independent. She is cultured, well read and eloquent. But her mother Mrs Batra is desperate as her daughter has crossed the Indian marriageable age. Though Nina is sometimes bogged down by her mother’s expectations, yet “education was a gift and she would not exchange the life of the mind for any humdrum marriage” (Kapur, …show more content…
Her husband’s indifference towards her problem aggravates her frustration. She is further disappointed when she comes to know about Ananda’s sexual therapy which he had hidden from her. She has already lost her job and her home. She cries, “I miss home – I miss my job – I miss doing things. I feel like a shadow. What am I but your wife?” (233) Nina’s loneliness drives her back to books and she opts for a part time job in a library. She also decides to go for a degree in Library Science which is her first step towards autonomy. This decision gives her an identity other than that of an Indian dentist’s wife. Nina, who earlier used to see the shadowy figure of her own child, talk of motherhood, infertility treatments, was anxiously waiting to be pregnant and whom her husband regarded conservative now adapts herself to the new country’s requirement. Her course and getting a job become her priority. Nina desperately strives to adapt to the novel environment. And in doing so she transgresses the borders of sexual ethics. Commenting on the husband-wife relationship in the novel Bharati Khairnar states, “Manju Kapur presents an absorbing study of several psychological factors which contribute to a barren marital relationship between Nina and Ananda. Intimacy, passion and commitment which form the bedrock of a marital relationship, are conspicuous by their absence in the couple’s relationship as a result of which their