This article examines how contemporary Indian English women writers redefine feminism by portraying women as self-asserting, self-defining individuals rather than silent victims of patriarchy. Focusing on Bharati Mukherjee?s Jasmine and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni?s The Mistress of Spices, the study analyzes the transformative journeys of the protagonists as they negotiate migration, cultural displacement, gender oppression, and identity reconstruction in the diasporic context. It highlights the shift from ?re-presentation? to ?self-presentation,? emphasizing women?s agency, resistance, and multiplicity of identities. Through successive name changes and symbolic rebirths, Jasmine and Tilo/Maya embody evolving female subjectivity, freedom of choice, and empowerment in a globalized world. The article argues that both novels challenge traditional gender norms and present feminism as a dynamic process of self-discovery, resilience, and reinvention.
Research Scholar, Department of English, Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya
