Ideal Womanhood In Manju Kapur

Sona considers education a less importance than culinary skills in life of women.

Though she was educated, she does not have any intention or concern about her daughter’s education. She and the whole family never looked through Nisha’s school diary, notebooks, or test papers and her academic progress through years. They did not care even if she fails. They cared about how she could cut ginger like matchsticks. Sona tried to inculcate in Nisha that the life of a woman must be with to look after her home, her husband, her children, her in-laws and her happiness must be in serving them food, she has cooked with her own hands considered as the ultimate aim in her life.

Manju Kapur explores the idea of ideal womanhood that lies in the good household duties in traditional setup in Indian society. It is the fact still exists in Indian society that every woman must know how to cook and for this Nisha was no

With education, they become aware of their self-reliance which concern with new women. Now they have considerable freedom of expression and thoughts. In every field, they work efficiently like men. However, Nisha’s family still believes in orthodox values and customs. They had faith in astrology that declares Nisha as a ‘mangli’ girl who is destined to marry unfortunate, and to face misery that could be found in the horoscope of any ‘mangli’ girl. Therefore, education plays the gap-filling role for Nisha and her family, but there are many opinions about the higher education of girls. Her mother believes, “People are suspicious of brides who are very educated. Too many ideas make it too difficult to adjust easily” (Kapur 139). She prefers domestic duties rather than education. She thinks, “The art of service and domesticity should shine on her daughter so brightly that she would overcome her negative karma to be a beacon in her married home” (Kapur