Bharati Mukherjee

Bharati Mukherjee[2†]

Bharati Mukherjee (1940–2017) was an Indian-born American novelist and short-story writer known for exploring the immigrant experience, cultural clashes, and alienation. Her work often depicted the violence and identity struggles faced by immigrants. Notable novels include "The Tiger’s Daughter" (1972), about a sheltered Indian woman confronting American and Indian cultures, and "Wife" (1975), which portrays an Indian woman's psychological unraveling between her native and adopted cultures[1†][2†].

Early Years and Education

Bharati Mukherjee was born into a wealthy family in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India[1†][2†]. She attended an Anglicized Bengali school from 1944 to 1948[1†][2†]. After three years abroad, the family returned to India[1†][2†].

Mukherjee attended the University of Calcutta, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in 1959[1†][2†]. She then pursued her Master of Arts at the University of Baroda, which she completed in 1961[1†][2†].

Seeking to further her education, Mukherjee moved to the United States to study at the University of Iowa[1†][2†]. There, she received her Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1963 and her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature in 1969[1†][2†].

These formative years played a crucial role in shaping Mukherjee’s worldview and literary style, laying the foundation for her future as a distinguished writer and academic[1†][2†].

Career Development and Achievements

After completing her education, Bharati Mukherjee embarked on a career that spanned academia and literature[2†][1†]. She taught at several prestigious institutions, including McGill University, Skidmore College, Queens College, and the City University of New York[2†][3†][4†]. Eventually, she became a professor in the English department at the University of California, Berkeley[2†][1†][3†][4†].

In addition to her academic career, Mukherjee was a prolific writer. She authored a number of novels and short story collections, as well as works of nonfiction[2†]. Her work often explored themes of cultural clashes and the immigrant experience[2†][1†]. Her first novel, “The Tiger’s Daughter” (1972), tells the story of a sheltered Indian woman shocked by her immersion in American culture and, on her return to India, by a changed Calcutta[2†][1†]. Her second novel, “Wife” (1975), details an Indian woman’s descent into madness as she is pulled apart by the demands of the cultures of her homeland and her new home in New York City[2†][1†].

Mukherjee’s work has been recognized for its depth and insight. In 1988, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for her collection "The Middleman and Other Stories"[2†][5†]. This recognition marked her as the first naturalized U.S. citizen to have won this prestigious award[2†][5†].

Throughout her career, Mukherjee was not just an observer of the immigrant experience, but a participant. She became a U.S. citizen in 1989 and stated in an interview that she considered herself an American writer, not an Indian expatriate writer[2†][1†].

First Publication of Main Works

Bharati Mukherjee was a prolific writer who authored several novels, short story collections, and works of nonfiction. Here are some of her main works:

• The Tiger’s Daughter (1971): This was Mukherjee’s first novel. It tells the story of a sheltered Indian woman who is shocked by her immersion in American culture and, on her return to India, by a changed Calcutta[2†].
• Wife (1975): This novel details an Indian woman’s descent into madness as she is pulled apart by the demands of the cultures of her homeland and her new home in New York City[2†].
• Jasmine (1989): This novel is one of Mukherjee’s most recognized works. It follows the life of a young Indian woman living in the United States[2†].
• The Holder of the World (1993): This novel is a historical romance that takes place in 17th century America and India[2†].
• Leave It to Me (1997): This novel explores the themes of identity and the immigrant experience in America[2†].
• Desirable Daughters (2002): This novel follows the lives of three sisters who were born and raised in Calcutta, and then went on to live very different lives in different parts of the world[2†].
• The Tree Bride (2004): This novel is the sequel to Desirable Daughters and continues the story of one of the sisters[2†].
• Miss New India (2011): This novel tells the story of a young woman from a small town in India who moves to Bangalore and becomes a part of India’s booming tech industry[2†].

Mukherjee’s works are known for their exploration of the immigrant experience, cultural clashes, and the complexities of identity[2†]. Her writing style is characterized by its vivid storytelling and nuanced character development[2†].

Analysis and Evaluation

Bharati Mukherjee’s work is characterized by its exploration of the immigrant experience, cultural clashes, and the complexities of identity[6†]. Her writing style is characterized by its vivid storytelling and nuanced character development[6†]. She often mixes opposites, shuffles ironies, and connects past with present[6†][7†].

Mukherjee’s themes encompass both a global and a personal consciousness, and it is this intersection that makes her works valuable and engrossing[6†][7†]. She uses literary allusions to enrich the meaning of her narratives[6†]. For Mukherjee, the impact of American society on the immigrant Indian woman is a recurring theme in her work[6†].

Her work also explores the ways in which racism shows up in society[6†]. She uses the names of characters (for example, Jasmine, Jyoti, Jane) to develop themes in her fiction[6†]. Her stories provide intense portraits of “immigrant experiences” and cultural collisions through her kaleidoscopic characters[6†].

Mukherjee’s work has been recognized with several awards. Her second collection of short stories, The Middleman, and Other Stories, won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1988[6†]. Her story “Angela” was selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories 1985, and “The Tenant” was included in The Best American Short Stories 1987[6†].

Personal Life

Bharati Mukherjee was married to writer Clark Blaise[2†][8†]. They had two children[2†][8†]. Mukherjee’s life was marked by her experiences of being a woman, an immigrant, and a writer[2†][1†]. She lived in various countries, including the United States and Canada[2†][1†], and her experiences in these places deeply influenced her writing[2†][1†].

Mukherjee died due to complications of rheumatoid arthritis and takotsubo cardiomyopathy on January 28, 2017, in Manhattan[2†][8†]. She was survived by her husband and one son[2†]. Her other son, Bart, predeceased her in 2015[2†].

Conclusion and Legacy

Bharati Mukherjee’s legacy is one of resilience, cultural exploration, and groundbreaking literature[9†][2†]. She is arguably the matriarch of Indian-American literature[9†]. Her writing career spanned five decades, during which she authored over a dozen books, both fiction and nonfiction[9†]. Her work is characterized by its raw, honest critique of the ideals of the “American Dream” and its meticulous examination of the nuances of displacement, revenge, grief, and redemption[9†].

Mukherjee’s characters were as flawed as they come. They fail, spectacularly so, in their attempts to seamlessly blend their multiple identities[9†]. Her writing is raw, honest, and routinely critiques the ideals of the "American Dream"[9†]. Like Shirley Jackson, Mukerjee could pen brutality as effortlessly as serene domesticity[9†].

Her seminal novel, Jasmine, is a testament to her ability to weave complex narratives about identity, destiny, and the American dream[9†]. The novel’s protagonist, Jyoti, flees her small village in Punjab, reinvents herself in America as Jasmine, Jazzy, Jase, and eventually Jane, and comes to realize that the American dream is no more than a mirage[9†].

Critically situating both well-known and under-discussed texts, Mukherjee’s writing is recognized for its aesthetic and ideological complexity[9†][10†][11†]. She made a sophisticated, erudite, multilayered use of intertextuality, especially her debt to cinema[9†][10†][11†].

Mukherjee’s narrative invites us to reflect on the ways in which cultural heritage shapes our experiences of loss and the strategies we employ to cope and heal[9†][12†]. Her work offers profound insights into the complexities of loss, grief, and resilience within the context of cultural identity and immigration[9†][12†].

Bharati Mukherjee passed away on January 28, 2017, in Manhattan at the age of 76[9†][2†]. She outlived the astrologer’s prediction by 13 years[9†]. Her blue-eyed foreign husband, writer Clark Blaise, was by her side[9†]. She was survived by her husband and one son[9†][2†]. Her other son, Bart, predeceased her in 2015[9†][2†].

Key Information

• Also Known As: Bharati Mukherjee[1†][2†]
• Born: July 27, 1940, Calcutta (now Kolkata), India[1†][2†]
• Died: January 28, 2017, New York, New York, U.S. (aged 76)[1†][2†]
• Nationality: Indian American Canadian[1†][2†]
• Occupation: Professor, novelist, essayist, short story writer, author, fiction writer, non-fiction writer[1†][2†]
• Notable Works: “Jasmine”, “The Holder of the World”, “The Tiger’s Daughter”, “Wife”, “Darkness”, "Desirable Daughters"[1†][2†]
• Notable Achievements: Bharati Mukherjee was the first major South Asian American writer and the first naturalized American citizen to win the National Book Critics Circle Award[1†][10†].

References and Citations:

1. Britannica - Bharati Mukherjee: American author [website] - link
2. Wikipedia (English) - Bharati Mukherjee [website] - link
3. LinkedIn - None [website] - link
4. Carnegie Corporation of New York - Bharati Mukherjee : Awards [website] - link
5. NBC News - Award-Winning Author Bharati Mukherjee Dead at 76 [website] - link
6. eNotes - Bharati Mukherjee Analysis [website] - link
7. eNotes - Bharati Mukherjee Long Fiction Analysis [website] - link
8. Simple Wikipedia (English) - Bharati Mukherjee [website] - link
9. Literary Hub - The Life and Legacy of Bharati Mukherjee ‹ Literary Hub [website] - link
10. Project MUSE - Johns Hopkins University Press - Understanding Bharati Mukherjee [website] - link
11. The MIT Press Bookstore - Understanding Bharati Mukherjee (Understanding Contemporary American Literature) [website] - link
12. Gradesfixer - The Management of Grief by Bharati Mukherjee [website] - link