Applying a postcolonial diaspora lens through Homi K. Bhabha’s theory of the ‘third space’ to Bharati Mukherjee’s novel Jasmine (1989), this paper aims to demonstrate how diasporic women negotiate for an identity in their struggle for a better life in the host land. Having ‘no home’ and ‘no host’, Mukherjee’s protagonist, Jasmine, whose life represents that of the postcolonial immigrant woman, finds an identity in the intercultural process, the ‘third space’. A discourse analysis of this novel and current knowledge of diaspora studies are applied to understanding immigrants’ challenges, postcolonial identity and diaspora-related cultural issues. The paper closely examines cultural hybridity, third space and women’s search for identity in these confrontations. It throws light on a widow’s life and how she tries to get away from the restrictions of home and redesign her identity in a third space in the context of feminism, diaspora and culture in a postcolonial and diasporic world.

中文翻译：

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茉莉花通过后殖民侨民视角寻找身份

通过霍米·K·巴巴的“第三空间”理论，将后殖民侨民视角应用于巴拉蒂·慕克吉的小说茉莉花(1989)，本文旨在展示散居海外的妇女如何在东道国争取更好的生活的过程中通过谈判获得身份。穆克吉的主人公茉莉“没有家”，“没有主人”，她的生活代表了后殖民移民妇女的生活，她在跨文化过程中找到了自己的身份，即“第三空间”。对这种新颖的和当前侨民研究知识的话语分析被应用于理解移民的挑战、后殖民身份和与侨民相关的文化问题。本文仔细研究了文化混杂性、第三空间以及女性在这些对抗中寻找身份的过程。它揭示了一位寡妇的生活，以及她如何试图摆脱家庭的限制，并在后殖民和侨民世界的女权主义、侨民和文化背景下在第三空间重新设计自己的身份。