From Commodity to Catalyst: Tracing the Evolution of the Daughter Archetype in Indian Fiction Across Eras

Abstract

This paper explores the evolving representation of daughterhood in Indian literature, emphasizing its intricate relationship with themes of family, gender, marriage, and social obligation. The figure of the daughter is often caught between emotional belonging and societal expectations, historically evaluated through her connections to marriage, reproduction, domestic values, and family honour. Analyzing the works of Munshi Premchand's Godaan (1936), Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve (1954), and Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things (1997), the paper asserts that the literary portrayal of the daughter does not follow a linear trajectory from oppression to empowerment, but rather demonstrates a gradual change in narrative significance.

In Godaan, daughterhood is linked to economic vulnerability and familial duty. Conversely, in Nectar in a Sieve, it serves as a platform to critique gendered expectations about marriage, fertility, and female respectability. By the time of The God of Small Things, daughterhood is increasingly tied to themes of memory, personal subjectivity, and a critical examination of familial and social frameworks. The paper employs feminist literary criticism and postcolonial feminist theories to illustrate the shift in the daughter's role from a mere “commodity” within familial exchanges to a “catalyst” that highlights and interrogates these very structures. This transformation indicates a change in narrative agency, although it stops short of claiming full emancipation for the character. The study posits that the evolving representation of daughters in these texts marks a significant cultural commentary on the agency and significance of women in South Asian literature.