Power and Sacrifice in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices

Abstract

Literature has always been an effective instrument in the hands of mankind since time immemorial and contributed for the all round development of the human beings and for bringing  harmony among different cultures and societies.  Among contemporary writers of women’s fiction ,one may perceive a growing concern for exploring female ties in it’s varied forms.  Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has characterized the lifeless spices as living characters in her novel.  The power of spices and the sacrifices of the protagonist make more sense about the myths, magic and history which is imposed in the Indian culture which is beyond science.  It also evaluates the importance of spices in socio-cultural perspective in the life of the protagonist.  This paper seek to examine the nature of spices and the sacrifices of the women trainees at the spice island. Through the novel Divakaruni has been able to produce better understanding of  the text and context by characterizing spices as non-humans who control the protagonist with power and the powers tend to work by the sacrifices of the protagonist.