Identity in Consumption: Reading Food and Intersectionality in Anita Desai's Fasting, Feasting

Title

Identity in Consumption: Reading Food and Intersectionality in Anita Desai's Fasting, Feasting

Creator

George N.; Vijayaraghavan A.P.

Description

With the resurging interest in Food Studies, this rapidly emerging field of study has seen multiple disciplines adding in their distinct flavours that truly make this an area to savour. Literary food studies, in particular, has become a relevant field of study with the understanding that food in literature always plays a symbolic role, as food in literature is never depicted for the sustenance of the literary characters. This paper seeks to explore the novel Fasting, Feasting (1999) by Anita Desai through the lens of food and foodways to explicate how the characters interact with the culinary arena, and ultimately, interact with each other and themselves. These interactions will serve as crucial insights into their identities, particularly their intersectional gender identities considering the facets of nationality, class, and the like. A special focus will also be rendered on the notion of marginalisation seen in the text, of which gender is a crucial deciding factor. The title of the novel hints at consumption-at both its presence and absence-which will prove as the gateway to the interactions of the characters with food in the novel to examine who it is that gets to feast while who are forced to starve. 2022 Aesthetics Media Services. All rights reserved.

Source

Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, Vol-14, No. 2

Date

2022-01-01

Publisher

Aesthetics Media Services

Subject

food in literature; gender; intersectionality; literary food studies

Coverage

George N., Department of English and Cultural Studies, Christ University, Bengaluru, India; Vijayaraghavan A.P., Department of English and Cultural Studies, Christ University, Bengaluru, India

Rights

All Open Access; Gold Open Access

Relation

ISSN: 9752935

Format

Online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.20

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