Aesthetics of Displacement in Jhumpa Lahiri's Fiction

This study is a new exploration of Lahiri's fiction through the lens of postmodern aesthetics with reference to the main text The Lowland and the secondary text The Namesake. The Lowland is a narrative of home, displacement and a vague attempt of resettlement in a new world, yet the prime objective of this thesis is to explore how the desire to break with the barriers of tragic past and seeking survival in another world gives a new perspective of Diaspora. The Lowland and The Namesake explore the aesthetics of displacement, rather than touching upon the pains of displacement and dislocation. It is not the existence in the new world which causes the disaster of individuals; rather it is the tragic past which destroys their lives totally. Moreover the rejection of old habits, traditions and conditioning, and a merging with the culture of the new context is an existing issue of the post modern transcultural world. The new world not only offers professional opportunity and financial betterment, but also provides a chance to obliviate the haunted memories of the tragic past. And immigration or displacement is a kind of rebirth in a new culture. The feeling of home is like something haunting and dark which frightens the people. Their quest of survival in a transcultural world, and their will to sacrifice their relations for that reason is an insight into situations of fast changing social fabric in India. This research explores how the male and the female agency works in order to build an individual identity, and it constructs individual realities based on personal experiences of the old world and the changing perceptions of the new world.