UPROOTINGS/REGROUNDINGS AND MESTIZA CONSCIOUSNESS IN BHARATI MUKHERJEE’S JASMINE

Abstract

By drawing a nexus between Sara Ahmed’s conception of uprootings/ regroundings, James Clifford’s notion of diasporic consciousness and Gloria Anzaldua’s conceptualization of mestiza consciousness, this paper aims to investigate how the protagonist in Mukherjee’s Jasmine regrounds herself in the diaspora after being uprooted. She shows the possibility of a new transnational paradigm for the construction of a home that leads her to mestiza consciousness and self-empowerment. This paper also investigates how the act of migration and diasporic consciousness permits the protagonist to discover alternate meanings of home. Mukherjee in Jasmine highlights the sufferings and challenges that her immigrant protagonist faces in the diaspora. She passes through different stages-nepantla, coatlicue, coyolxhauqui, and then reaches mestiza consciousness.