The Momentum of Mongrelization

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Similar to “Two Ways to Belong in America”, and her personal experience, Mukherijee's “A Wife's Story” describes the toll mongrelization has on an Indian couple's marriage when Panna, the wife, becomes assimilated into the American culture while studying abroad. The story is about an Indian woman named Panna that must leave her Indian husband in India to go to America in hopes to acquire the credentials she needs to become a special education teacher. Similarly to “Two Ways to belong in America”, the plan was for Panna to get her degree as soon as she can and then the Indian couple would resume their lives as a traditional couple back home in India. However, when Panna comes to America, she gradually becomes Americanized. Before, when Panna was in India, she wore traditional clothing such as saris, stayed at home all day, and was never even in the same room with men outside her family. When Panna came to America, it did not take very long for her to pick up on the American culture. She started wearing American clothing, took off her mangalsutra, which is considered the necklace of marriage, and the most taboo of them all: going on platonic dates with men. Panna’s cultural values were transformed to fit the American society just as Mukherijee did in her trip to America.

When Panna's husband comes to visit her in America, the idea of “mongreliazation” is presented as a good thing because it enables the couple to learn more about each other. When Panna is notified that her husband is coming to see her in America, she struggles to hide all evidence of her becoming assimilated into the American culture because she feared that he would be resent with her. She quickly digs through her closet to recover the dismantled, silk, sari that she once wore with so much pride and wrapped it around her body and goes to pick up her husband from the airport. Surprisingly, Panna's husband accepts the American culture with open arms. He has a blast in America by fearlessly, trying an assortment of American recreations such as going to eat at American restaurants, going on night strolls in the city, and showing affection to his wife in public. All these things may sound casual to the average American, but these things were a completely foreign to the couple because of their strict back ground. The couple's relationship was becoming stronger because they were getting to know each other better. Mukherijee writes, “Back home we hated shopping, but now it is a lover's paradise, I feel as if I’m just getting to know him” (35). Panna and her husband are becoming closer because the American culture allows the couple to actually do things that were restricted in India. The reader gets the feel that “mongrelization” is a positive experience in this selection because it has essentially brought that couple closer.

Panna's husband's positive experience with the American culture is short lived because he notices that the American influences have transformed his wife's mindset into becoming too assertive. As the story progresses, Panna's husband notices that the American culture does not suit him well because of how the men treat their women. More specifically he hates how the women are free to do as they please and is especially angered when he catches an American man eying his wife while making harassing comments. This the turning point in the story because the husband suddenly begins to notice how much his wife has changed since first leaving America. Panna, who often kept quiet in India, was now becoming assertive with all the decisions and financial decisions. Panna describes that “He looked disconcerted. He's used to a different role” (33). At this moment Panna's husband is baffled because he is not used to a society where women make major decisions. As a result, the husband tells Panna that she must return back home to India immediately but she nonchalantly declines his offer. She tells him that she can’t go without her teaching degree. However, this is just a secondary reason for Pannna because truthfully, she does not want to leave America because she can’t go back to being the submissive house wife she was in India. After her husband leaves the room, while looking into the mirror Panna says, “I am free, afloat, watching somebody else” (40). Panna cannot go back to the Indian society because Panna is not Americanized and does not want to transition back to the Indian culture. This shows that the American culture has given Panna the voice she needed to stand against the controlling Indian culture. This marks the end of the story Panna and her situation is unresolved.

In both “A Wife's Story” and “Two Ways to belong in America” Bharati Mukherijee used juxtaposition as a technique to build characterization and to expose different views on mongrelization. In “Two Ways to belong in America”, the main character, Bharati is given a pro mongrelization mindset whereas her sister Mira believes in staying true to her Indian culture by wanting to returning back to India with her Indian husband. In “A Wife's Story” juxtaposition is used in a similar fashion to show the disagreement amongst Panna and her Indian husband on mongrelization. Since mongrelization is a debatable topic, using juxtaposition honor’s both viewpoints before Mukherijee makes takes her stand on the subject. Mukherijee makes her points very clear in her stories because she always spends the most time writing about the pro view point. In “Two Ways to Belong In America” Mukherijee stopped the whole storyline to explain to her readers that “mongrelization is a word I Celebrate”. Also, in “A Wife’s story” Mukherijee mostly writes about how mongrelization has made the Indian couple’s relationship stronger, However, when the husband begins to reject the “mongrelizaton”, Mukherijee suddenly ends the story. Using Juxtaposition and putting emphasis on pro” mongreliazation” viewpoints are just a few ways Mukherijee expresses her views in her writings.

Since Bharati Mukherijee’s life-long dream of becoming a writer was achieved after overcoming many cultural obstacles and being assimilated into the American culture, her writings convey a message of supporting “mongrelization”.Growing up in land with little opportunity for women posed a difficult challenge for Mukherijee. Luckily, she bypassed the Indian cultural and social restrictions because her career choice did not challenge the male-dominant society of India. After going against tradition and marrying a Canadian man, Mukherijee became “mongrelized” in the American culture. These experiences have influenced Mukherijee to preach the acceptance of ‘mongrelization” in her stories. Mukherijee’s Indian roots have grown strong in the