Journal Details

Anita Desai's Clear Light of Day (1980) is read critically in this study within the framework of modern trauma theory. While the novel may be classified under the Partition genre or domestic drama, the present report attempts to engage with the novel as an “anatomy of the damaged psyche,” wherein the crumbling house in Old Delhi serves as an extension of the damaged inner self of the characters. The report draws on the works of Cathy Caruth, Dominick LaCapra, Judith Herman, and Marianne Hirsch to examine the manner in which the lives of the Das siblings—Bim, Raja, Tara, and Baba—continue to grapple with “unclaimed experiences.” The report establishes an interlink between the Macro-Trauma of the Partition of 1947 and the Micro-Traumas of parental neglect, sibling rivalry, etc., i