Super Short Summary

Told from the first-person point of view and in a non-linear style, Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine is about the journey and personal development of a young Indian woman as she attempts to assimilate into American culture. Influenced by Mukherjee’s experiences, the title character, Jasmine, plays a series of different roles throughout her young life. At the heart of the novel is the struggle to find one’s identity, and yet be flexible and courageous enough to reinvent a new self for each unique life experience. The themes of assimilation and identity are crucial to Jasmine’s growth as she is given new names at each stop along her journey; some of these names are liberating, and some are oppressive. Additionally, the themes of duty and love are addressed in Jasmine’s different types of love for two different men, and the decision she must make between that sense of devotion and the desire to freely follow her heart. The novel includes depictions of sexual violence and the murder of a spouse.