The ‘Ideal’ versus ‘Difficult’: Virmati’s Conflict in Manju Kapur’s “Difficult Daughters”

Abstract

Manju Kapur is a feminist writer who endeavours to portray her women as rebelling against powerful challenges of tradition and patriarchy. The patriarchal society has carved out a definite image for a woman. According to it an ‘ideal’ woman is one that loves, serves, sacrifices and suffers but above all she is one that silently obeys. The moment she refuses to conform to societal norms she becomes a rebel or rather ‘difficult’. Kapur’s Difficult Daughters deals with the condition of Indian women who are victimized and marginalized in a patriarchal framework of things. It is the story of Virmati, a young woman torn between her family, her desire for education, the lure of illicit love and it’s all encompassing political and communal connotations. It gives vent to the identity crisis faced by women and shows the protagonist’s firm conviction to live life on her own terms by confronting the numerous challenges of patriarchy. In her desire for self-expression and self-actualization, Virmati turns defiant and assertive and is condemned by her family.