Exploration of Cultural Myth, History and Trauma through Dreams in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Queen of Dreams and Oleander Girl

Abstract

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a well-known Indian-American author who frequently explores issues of culture, identity, family, and women's experiences in her novels and short stories. Dreams are frequently used as a literary method in her works to portray deeper emotions, psychological states, and symbolic implications. The characters' inner problems, fears, and desires are represented via their dreams as metaphors. Divakaruni frequently explores the cultural and spiritual facets of her characters' life in her works. Exploring cultural myths, traditions, and spiritual beliefs may happen by analyzing and interpreting dreams. Dreams are so powerful that they might provide a path to characters, help them connect to their history, or uncover secrets. Dreams can hint at future happenings or express a sense of destiny. Characters may experience prophetic dreams that provide clues about their future courses; these dreams frequently influence the acts and choices they make throughout the course of the novel. Readers can gain a deeper understanding of the characters' hopes, traumas, and inner conflicts by using dreams as a window into their mind. Characters' inner ambitions, unresolved problems, and emotional battles might be revealed through their dreams. It goes without saying that the narrative structure of Divakaruni's works is influenced by dreams. Dreams can help narrators move fluidly between many points of view, locales, and eras, enhancing the complexity of her narratives. In the present study, the researcher intends to explore the comprehensive role of dreams in her novels Queen of Dreams and Oleander Girl.