Jasmine's Destiny

Jasmine Flower

Jasmine is a sweet smelling flower that climbs and thrives in warm temperatures.  The meaning of the name in Arabic is the “gift from god”.  Jasmine is also the main character in the book Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee.   Born in Hasnapur Punjab India, she is a lively, brave and clever girl that grows up on a farm.  Having a predestined path she is unwilling to follow. Fate has a funny way of keeping you on track.

Jasmine does not want believe her destiny that astrologer told her.  She wouldn’t believe it but the astrologer said “Fate is Fate” (4).  We resist so hard at something like and yet it becomes a reality.  Running home talking to her sisters she said that “I know what I don’t want to become” as her sisters give aid to her wound on her forehead (5).  This reference is denying what she was told by the astrologer that her fate will someday be a widow at a young age, a murderer, and exiled from her country.

The book jumps around to different times in her life, all of a sudden Jasmine is in the United States. My assumptions of jumping around are because this is a reflection of how she felt throughout her life.  Not having stability in her life.  They were religious conflicts between Muslim and Hindu in Punjab and violence she witnessed and experienced.  Her father dying, her mother being emotionally crushed and depressed are all reasons for instability.  That is why she left India she did not have anything left she love’s adventure and has a curiosity towards America.

Her curiosity for the United States was peaked by Arre a young man who loves Jasmine and marries her at the age of fourteen.  He is very studying to become an electrical engineer.  Life is hard saving every rupee he can so he can afford a better life for Jasmine. They seemed like they were going to live happily ever after but Mukherjee spoiled the anticipation of Jasmine life.  We already know she marries Bud in Iowa in previous chapters. Arre is going to die.  This is shown when Jasmine said “I’d already had my warning, which I succeeded in blocking” she is referring to her foreseen fate (76).  Overconfident in thinking that she tricked her own destiny.  She is still young and has a lot of time ahead of her to fulfill that fate.   

Jasmine appears to be taking an active control over her life but destiny has an interesting way of catching up with you. It seems like she is actually being manipulated by her subalternity which is her denial and trying running away from destiny. The astrologer did predict that she would be a widow at a early age. So far in the book Jasmine is fulfilling her destiny even though “I know what I don’t want to become” (5).