From Object to Subject: Feminist Consciousness in Divakaruni's The Palace of Illusions

Abstract

This research article critically examines Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s 2008 novel, The Palace of Illusions, through a feminist lens where a woman’s perspective reshapes the ancient tale of the Mahabharata. Not often seen this way before, the tale shifts its focus toward Draupadi – not as a background presence but as someone who thinks, speaks, and feels. Instead of silence, she now holds voice; rather than passivity, there is intent. Her story unfolds in her own words, giving depth that was absent from earlier versions shaped by male views. One after another, moments arise in which defiance takes shape: how she describes coming into being, what happens during her wedding, and the feelings stirred by Karna despite the limits placed on women’s longing. The article argues that the novel The Palace of Illusions consolidates a broader tendency toward mythological revisionism as a feminist practice, where the retelling of epic history aims largely to give women a voice of their own.