Manju Kapoor’s Difficult Daughters A Saga of Feminist Autonomy and Separate Identity

Manju Kapur presents the yearning for autonomy and separate identity in her women protagonists in this post-modern novel in a traditional thread. The novelist has portrayed her protagonists as women caught in the conflict between the passions of the flesh and a yearning to be a part of the political and intellectual movements of the day. Thematically the novel supports a romantic story of Virmati and her intellectual yearnings. In the chain growth of the events, Virmati becomes the difficult daughter for her mother as well Ida for her. Stoic Women in Difficult Daughters Manju Kapur in Difficult Daughters presents the image of the suffering but stoic women eventually breaking traditional boundaries in the backdrop of traditional narrative thread. In post-colonial era, partition (traditional narrative thread) has ever been the most prolific and prominent area for creative writers. “A number of novels were written on the theme of the destruction it brought and the plight of the refugees. They faithfully record the reign of violence that characterized the period and provide a sad, telling commentary on the breakdown on human values”. (Dhawan 14) The Traditional Narrative Thread Using the traditional narrative thread, Manju Kapur has invigorated the English language to suit narration of what she felt about her women and their lives in post modern India in a Language in India www.languageinindia.com 19