Family and Individual Life Conflict in Difficult Daughters

Abstract

Family is a well-framed structure with ethics and values. Family includes everyone’s desire bounded to be one and individual’s freedom is barred. At the same time freedom gives the rights to lead life with an individual’s own desire and welfare. Every person has freedom to think and act. Individual’s freedom should be for the betterment of his/her development. Though freedom is common for all, people find it difficult to get theirs especially when they come from an orthodox family. Their freedom is restricted to a limit and they have to accommodate themselves within that circle. In certain circumstances they break those restrictions and come out to prove who they are through their inherent talents. In this attempt, they are affected mentally and their conflict mind diverts them. Mentality of people differs from one another and it affects others in one way or another. Manju Kapur in her novel Difficult Daughters projects how few members in the family break the restrictions and move forward by choosing the path of their own and withstand in their choice of crossing mental tortures. In this process of struggle, except few, for others the problems they face make them a stagnant pool thinking that is their world. This is dealt in the novel with the incidents showing both physical and mental challenges even after getting freedom from the family. It also enhances the importance of family as well as the solitary state in individual life.