Bharati Mukherjee’s literary works grapple with the complexities of cultural clashes, the impact of transformation, and how history shapes the present. Her narratives often center on Indian women who, raised amidst age-old traditions, find themselves adrift in the vastly different Western world. While some characters face ruin, others discover liberation along their journey.

Migration and Identity

Mukherjee’s novel Wife (1975) tells the tragic tale of an Indian woman whose dislocation to America after an arranged marriage spirals into madness and murder. In stark contrast, Jasmine (1989) narrates the story of a Hindu widow who, defying suicidal tradition, journeys to California with renewed hope for a self-determined future. These narratives reflect Mukherjee’s personal experiences as an immigrant, although her later novel, Desirable Daughters (2002), delves deeper into autobiographical elements.

Desirable Daughters: A Tale of Three Sisters

This novel centers on three sisters from a Bengali Hindu Brahmin family in Calcutta. Echoing Mukherjee’s own family, one sister adheres to a traditional life, while another embraces Western professional life in the United States. The third sister, Tara Bhattacharjee, embodies introspection and becomes a writer, caught between her cultural roots and contemporary life.

Tara’s Journey

Despite her intellectual nature, Tara’s marriage is arranged according to tradition. She marries Bishwapriya “Bish” Chatterjee, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, but soon finds American upper-class conventions as restrictive as those she left behind. Tara eventually divorces Bish, taking their son Rabi, and moves to San Francisco’s Haight district, seeking freedom with a Zen Buddhist carpenter, only to find herself ensnared in another stereotype.

New Beginnings and Old Connections

Tara’s newfound independence is short-lived. Her lover departs, and Bish re-enters her life, rescuing her during a harrowing fire-bombing incident, which leaves him severely injured. The culprit, Abbas Sattar Hai, remains at large, and the event shifts suspicions towards criminal conspiracies against Bish due to his global stature.

The Tree Bride: Exploring Fate and Duty

The Tree Bride picks up where Desirable Daughters leaves off, expanding its thematic scope to Hindu concepts of karma and dharma. The novel begins with Tara revisiting the bombing, grappling with vulnerability, and recognizing that she must protect not only herself and her son but also care for an incapacitated Bish while pregnant with his child.

Unexpected Encounters

In her personal narrative, Tara meets her obstetrician, "V. Khanna," expecting an Indian doctor but finding instead a Canadian, Victoria Treadwell, married to an Indian and connected to Bish. This connection brings the two families closer, with the Khannas hosting gatherings at their Sausalito retreat, named Easy Come, symbolizing fortune through Yash Khanna’s investment in Bish’s ventures.

Historical Ties

Tara discovers another link with Victoria through Victoria's grandfather, Virgil Treadwell, a British civil servant in East Bengal, who likely knew Tara’s great-great-aunt, Tara Lata Gangooly. The “Tree Bride” tale, familiar from childhood, tells of Tara Lata’s marriage to a tree to avoid disgrace after her betrothed died from a snakebite.

The Legacy of the Tree Bride

Freed from traditional marital constraints, Tara Lata used her unique position to educate herself, becoming a respected nurse and activist in her community. Her legacy as a champion for India's independence and women’s rights inspired Tara Bhattacharjee to chronicle her life, prompting visits to Mishtigunj for research.

The Search for Truth

Tara’s investigations reveal more about the Tree Bride and her time in Mishtigunj, guided by an enigmatic Muslim elder. He introduces her to the Tree Bride's contributions to the independence cause and provides a Bengali account of John Mist's life, a pivotal figure in the community’s history. This fuels Tara’s desire to delve into both Mist and her ancestor’s...