Dependency on Men

In the novel Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee, I found myself to feel frustrated with the main character due to her dependency on men throughout her journey. Every time Jasmine went to a new place, she found a new man to be with. From Prakash to Taylor to Bud. She was never on her own. Jasmine even realises it: "I have had a husband for each of the women I have been. Prakash for Jasmine, Taylor for Jase, Bud for Jane. Half-Face for Kali" (197). It makes me think that she didn't truly know who she was, so she didn't feel comfortable alone. And I can trace this back to when Jasmine was raped, the last time where she felt truly alone. "No one to call to, no one to disturb us. Just me and the man who had raped me, the man I had murdered" (119). Jasmine went through such a terrible thing when she was raped, that it stuck with her throughout the rest of her journey. Being alone, she was vulnerable. This vulnerability is again seen when Jase spies the man who murdered Prakash. "I can't come out and challenge him. I'm very exposed, I'm alone all day, I'm out in the park-'" (189). This frightens Jase, enough for her man at the time to notice. But with a man, it wouldn't happen to her again, she wouldn't be scared. Although this may be the reason that Jasmine was so dependent on the men in her life, I feel that over time she was becoming comfortable with herself, and could have been on her own. But instead, in the end, she again ended up with a man. Mukherjee makes it seem that Jasmine goes off with Taylor for herself, but really Taylor is the one wanting her, and she gives herself up, yet again. Mukherjee writes: "I am not choosing between men. I am caught between the promise of America and old-world dutifulness. A caregiver's life is a good life, a worthy life. What am I to do?" (240). But she is choosing between men. Taylor is the one who came to Iowa to get her, she didn't go to him. And she isn't giving up her life of being a caregiver, because she is just going to be one with Taylor and Duff. The last sentence of the novel is false in my opinion: "I am out the door and in the potholed and rutted driveway, scrambling ahead of Taylor, greedy with wants and reckless from hope" (241). Jasmine is not being greedy because she isn't truly leaving for herself. I was very frustrated with the end not only because Jasmine leaves, but with the way she leaves. Jasmine claims that she wants to be a good person, "I can't leave. How can I?' I want to do the right thing. I don't mean to be a terrible person"' (239). But how is leaving a man with his unborn child to be with another man doing the right thing? To me, the ending really wasn't an ending because it was just another step to Jasmine's journey, her journey of men.

Not only do I see the dependency on men in the novel Jasmine, but I find it to be very prevalent in the lives of women today. Maybe not so obvious today, but a few decades ago, women would go to college so they could meet a husband. They needed that man in their lives that they could depend on. In our community, there are numerous wives who do not work and depend financially on the husband. When we get married, most change their last names to that of the husband. In movies we see little girls who dream about the perfect life, which includes the perfect husband. Fortunately, there has been much change in the independence of women. Women now want a career and a family. The divorce rate has risen and there are a lot more single mothers out there now than there were a few decades ago. Even though there has been some progress today, I know that I still want that perfect life that we see in the movies. I'm not ashamed to say that when I am older, I would love to have a husband is is financially strong enough so that I don't have to work and I can be a stay at home mother, a housewife. But I would still have my independence and freedom. I would maintain my individuality and not be like Jasmine, who is dependent on men for her own character.