Familial Anticipation and Personal Inclination in Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season: A Study of the Woman Protagonist’s Triumph in Overcoming Conflicts

Abstract

A writer of immense talent, Amulya Malladi holds an important place among Indian diasporic writers. Her novels explore many themes like cultural conflicts, social issues pertaining to matriarchy and patriarchy and human relationships. Her crowning work The Mango Season presents the intricacies and inner reality of Indian society. It focuses on the Indian family, the Indian summer, the Indian tradition, the typical Indian marriage system, and caste discrimination prevalent in the Indian society. Priya, the protagonist of the novel The Mango Season, is a highly educated woman from an orthodox Indian family. After working in America for seven years, she returns to India, which leads to an unexpected turning point in her life. She desires to marry her American boyfriend, Nick, but her family expects her to marry an Indian of its choice. She is caught between her traditional family’s expectations and her own desires in this novel. Using behaviorism theory, this research paper investigates Priya’s predicament and her ultimate triumph. This study shows how her situation influences her behaviour. Even though Amulya Malladi portrays Priya as a well-educated and independent woman, she is still stuck between familial anticipation and personal inclination. She struggles to decide whom to satisfy – her family or herself. This paper aims to depict how Priya struggles and ultimately achieves her desire to lead a life of her own choice.