Orientalistic Approach to Anita Desai's Novels: A Critical Study

This paper examines the Orientalist themes in the novels of Anita Desai through the lens of Edward Said’s Orientalism. While Desai’s works are praised for their psychological realism and Indian settings, they are often interpreted through a Western lens. This study argues that Desai’s narratives, while shaped by diasporic experience and Western readership, challenge stereotypical representations of India. Her novels subtly critique Western spiritual tourism and Orientalist romanticism by presenting a fragmented, internal, and often disenchanted India.