The Institution of Marriage as Presented in Manju Kapur’s The Immigrant

The intent of the present paper is to throw lights on Manju Kapur‟s views on the Indian marriage institution and at the same time to show the woman psyche as studied by mentioned novelist. In the present paper only a novel, The Immigrant is taken for the study. Marriage is one of the most prominent themes in the fictions of Manju Kapur. In marriage institution, various shades of relationship are projected, evaluated and experienced in her novels. Some characters of Manju Kapur marry because of social pressure. Some of the women characters feel and consider that marriage is a bound and they eventually break this bondage and want to make them free from all the responsibilities and bondage. Some of the women characters try to adjust somehow or the other and make their relationship work. In India, the institution of marriage is not just the union of two individuals but it is something more, the union of two souls, cultures, families, the relatives and the society in general. In India, marriage is considered divine if the rituals performed during the marriage are appraised. India has the history of „Swayamvara‟ as well as arranged marriages. Through the woman characters novelist presents her views on the Indian marriage institution in her novel.