The Maternal Presence in Diasporic Women's Lives in the Works of Amulya Malladi and Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni

Abstract

This chapter studies the condition of migrant women as represented in certain fictional works by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni and Amulya Malladi. It draws upon maternalist-psychoanalytical perspectives and Homi Bhabha's notion of third space to examine the relationship(s) maintained by fictional migrant women with the mother figures of their lives within a culinary fictional context. The objective is to explore how certain cultural motifs attain special significance via links with mother figures from the diasporic scene who identify themselves with “Home.” It is argued that culinary fictions challenge the familiar paradigm(s) about women and domesticity. On one hand, they invest familiar (and often devalued) domestic chores with power and agency. On the other, they present the familiar women figures associated with traditional domesticity in a new and empowering light.