Constructing identity and gender in Bharati Mukherjee's Jasmine and Jhumpa Lahiri's the namesake

Identity is a cultural phenomenon used by individuals to define themselves and gain a place in society. In the modern era, it is considered that identity is relatively stable and through identities an individual can feel a temporary completeness. However, identity cannot be dissociated from power, culture, society and time. Each identity bears various meanings and as it is constructed, identity cannot be defined as natural. In this thesis, identity has been examined as a cultural construction through the novels Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. In the first chapter, the concepts, discourse, power, language and migration have been discussed with a focus on gender. In the second and third chapters, the said novels have been scrutinized and the effects of identity construction on the characters have been examined. Moreover, throughout the thesis the name – identity relationship, home and belonging are the concepts discussed in detail in the context of gender.