‘Desirable Daughters’ reveals secrets of an Indian family
Thu Apr 11, 8:34 AM ET
Dinah Eng USA TODAY
Family is at the heart of civilized society. Yet, in most every culture, women are simultaneously treasured and oppressed.
In Bharati Mukherjee’s novel Desirable Daughters, three sisters born into a wealthy Brahmin family take different paths to womanhood but are reunited when a mysterious stranger threatens to shatter all that they hold dear.
The story is told through the eyes of the youngest sister, Tara, who lives in San Francisco with her teen son, Rabi. Tara, divorced from an Indian man who has become a Silicon Valley multimillionaire, has rebelled against traditional dictates of what it means to be a proper Indian wife and mother.
Parvati, the middle sister, marries and remains in Bombay, the wife of a wealthy, traditional Bengali businessman. Her life revolves around her two sons, visiting in-laws and her aging parents, devout Hindus who are in ill health.
The oldest sister, Padma, is the elusive sibling who left India for the bright lights of New York in her early 20s. Padma, whose beauty and intelligence are matched only by her ambition, puts on a happy face for sisterly phone calls and occasional visits, but she keeps the truth of what has happened to her since leaving India a secret.
Family secrets, of course, are never kept, and when a young man drops into Tara’s life and claims to be an unacknowledged relative, the family Tara thought she knew begins to unravel before her frightened eyes. ‘’ ‘Love’ in my childhood and adolescence . . . was indistinguishable from duty and obedience,‘’ muses Tara. ‘‘Our bodies changed, but our behavior never did. Rebellion sounded like a lot of fun, but in Calcutta there was nothing to rebel against. Where would it get you? My life was one long childhood until I was thrown into marriage.’’
The marriage that takes Tara to America gives her an undreamed-of independence and longing for more than just trips to the shopping mall. Her search for identity leads her back through childhood memories against the backdrop of scenes from India’s history, which gives a rich portrait of what it means to grow up female in a society that has little regard for women.
As Tara confronts her sisters with pains of the past, she learns that the future is always evolving and that conflict does not destroy families, but angry silence can.
Mukherjee’s novel is both lyrical and insightful, sharing observations about family that apply to almost all cultures. While the first 20 pages can seem somewhat plodding as the author relates the legend of Tara Lata, the Tree-Bride who became ‘‘the least-known martyr to Indian freedom,’’ the tale’s meaning is integral to the journey that Tara, and all women, must make.
Being a desirable daughter entails more than pleasing elders and fulfilling societal expectations. As Tara’s mother finally puts it: ‘‘You must first of all value yourself.’’
Desirable Daughters
By Bharati Mukherjee
Theia Books, 320 pp., $24.95