Quest for Self in the novel All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy

Abstract

This paper discusses the concept of culture and tradition in Anuradha Roy’s novel All the lives we never lived. Culture and tradition play important roles in contemporary society. It is evident from the analysis that women are restricted from living their lives according to their wish because of societal norms. The novel All the lives we never lived focuses on the sufferings of women and their craving for freedom. The protagonist of the novel is Gayatri, an artist who marries Neck Chand. She loves to dance and paint but her husband Neck does not appreciate her passion Gayatri’s desire is neglected by her husband. He wants Gayatri to give up her aspirations and look after the family. The likes and dislikes of Neck and Gayatri lead to a temperamental disparity between them. Gayatri wants to break the patriarchal mindset of her husband. So she has chosen her passion, freedom and identity over her family in order to pursue her passion for art so she leaves her husband and her son Myshkin to pursue her passion of art. This paper explores the struggles of Indian women in the family and focuses on how Gayatri rebels against the social norms to establish her Self identity.