Independence at the Cost of Partition: A Reflection on Manju Kapur’s Difficult Daughters

Abstract

The flourishing of Indian novels in English after Independence has witnessed the recurrence of the theme of partition in various forms. Manju Kapur’s Difficult Daughters revisits the partition scenario from the vantage point of a contemporary mindset. It focuses on the intellectual and emotional dilemma of Virmati, the protagonist in the politics of partition and post-partition days. She aspires to taste the “wine of independence” and pursues higher education to shoulder responsibilities other than those of her husband and children. Trampling the patriarchal threshold of the conservative joint family she passionately falls in love with her already married neighbour, Professor Harish only to realize that she craves to be a down-to-earth housewife looking after the mundane needs of her husband. Her pre-marriage abortion and her post-marriage miscarriage coupled with her rejection by her family and her failure to enjoy freedom and self-fulfilment even after attaining higher education and marrying a man of her own choice are set against the backdrop of the country’s struggle for freedom from British colonizers and the subsequent partition leaving behind the trail of unprecedented violence and communal fury. This paper attempts to explore the theme of independence at the heavy cost of partition which gets reflected very subtly in the parallel stories of India’s struggle for freedom and Virmati’s battle for independence. Both achieve independence at the cost of losing a part of themselves.