Between Spices and Souls: Exploring Love, Identity, and Cultural Boundaries in Divakaruni’s the Mistress of Spices

Abstract

This paper examines the complexities of cross-cultural love in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices, focusing on how romantic relationships are shaped by cultural identity and immigrant experience. Through the character of Tilo, a mystical healer bound by duty, and her relationship with Raven, a man of mixed Native American and White heritage, the novel explores how love can transcend and be constrained by cultural boundaries. Based in a deeply multicultural environment, the story shows the conflict between individual wants and cultural duty, and how love is a site of connection and conflict. The research also explores the wider themes of these love struggles, demonstrating how they express deeper issues of identity, belonging, and hybridity in an age of globalization.