Immigrants (females) endeavor to leave their countries to achieve freedom, equality, and a better life and opportunity in a new country. They face unexpected situations of diaspora and culture shock. Individuals have to be willing to tolerate or sacrifice a part of the old themselves so that they can step into a better life. The writer examines her protagonists through a long process from the first space to the third space, from India to America. She offers three options for their future lives (assimilation, hybridity, rejection). In Bharati Mukherjee’s Desirable Daughters, the protagonist faces the dilemma of modern women when she is involved with American life. She changes from an Indian desirable daughter to a free woman who holds an Indian-American identity. The protagonist is caught in the clash of cultures between past and present, tradition and modernity. As a heroine, she breaks several traditional norms and codes, however, Tara does not separate herself from Indian norms. However, in Jasmine, despite many difficulties, the heroine strives to reconstruct her identity to fit in mainstream American Society. Jasmine ‘s harmonious and tolerant behavior is extraordinary, instead of rejecting the struggles of the foreign land, whenever necessary, she adapts to different harsh situations. She does not surrender until achieves her goals, successfully. This study scrutinizes each female protagonist through the lens of the post-colonial transcultural theories primarily by Stuart Hall and Homi Bhabha. In Desirable Daughters, Tara’s attitude and actions are examined through the key concepts of Ambivalence and Difference, Hybridity, and Third Space. However, in Jasmine, Jasmine’s mindset and efforts are investigated through critical concepts of Assimilation, Being and Becoming, and Third Space.
