A Displaced Person's Quest for Discovering the Self in Jaishree Misra’s Ancient Promises

Abstract

JaishreeMisra's semi-autobiographical work Ancient Promises narrates the trajectories in the life of the protagonist Janaki allies Janu. The novel is about a young girl's painful journey to self-discovery and freedom. It also raises some very important questions regarding the view of society towards womanhood and disability, as in a country like India both are viewed as the "other". Janu undergoes constant struggle in her life as an affectionate and submissive daughter, an empathetic but guilty lover, a restless and depressed wife, a helpless and desolate mother and so on. The story of Janaki is obvioualy a message to the present-day society. This paper examines quest motif of the central character.