The Changing Family Structure and the Dilemma of Women In Manju Kapur’s Novels

Abstract

Family is considered the oldest and most basic institution in Indian society. It is the primary source of socialization and culture. In India, family is generally seen as a homogeneous unit with strong coping capacity, bound together by care and affection. In a large and culturally diverse country like India, however, families are not of one type. They differ based on class, community, ethnicity and individual choices. Members of a family are connected through personal relationships and social roles, and family acts as an important link between community and social change. The novels revolve around three generations living within a joint family framework and explore how patriarchal ideology, patrilineal descent and traditional gender roles shape women's lives. In Difficult Daughters, Virmati is caught between tradition and modernity, sacrificing education and freedom for family honour, struggling for identity and self-assertion in a male-dominated society. In Home, Nisha's journey from a protected girl in the traditional Banwari Lal family to an economically independent entrepreneur through her boutique 'Nisha's Creations' reflects the clash between tradition and modernity, where mothers themselves become agents of patriarchy. The study concludes that Kapur's protagonists represent the modern Indian woman negotiating between roots and wings, familial duty and individual aspiration, and ultimately redefining womanhood within the evolving Indian family.