PSYCHOLOGICAL HYBRIDITY AND RESISTANCE: REINTERPRETING BHABHA’S THIRD SPACE IN ARUNDHATI ROY’S THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS AND ARAVIND ADIGA’S THE WHITE TIGER

Abstract

Homi K. Bhabha’s ‘Third Space’ is characterised as an ‘interstitial realm’ where cultural meanings are negotiated, allowing for the emergence of hybrid identities.  It challenges the binary oppositions of coloniser and colonised, facilitating a space where new cultural expressions arise. ‘Third Space’ provides a compelling framework for analysing the complexities of identity and resistance in postcolonial literature. This concept is vividly illustrated through the characters of Anjum in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness and Balram Halwai in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger. As both characters navigate their identities through a cultural landscape characterised by hybridity and ambiguity, Bhabha’s notion of a place where new meanings and identities emerge is embodied in both characters. The study also intends to explore the psychological dimensions of hybridity and argues that the various characters inhabit emotionally fraught Third Spaces where identity fragmentation, trauma, and cognitive dissonance influence their inner worlds.  The paper highlights how resistance operates not only culturally and politically but also within the intimate, affective landscapes of the self by foregrounding the psychological negotiations embedded in hybrid identities. Roy’s narrative intertwines various cultural threads such as Islamic, Hindu, and Western influences and creates a tapestry that embodies hybridity. Aravind Adiga, in his text, explores themes of class struggle and corruption within Indian society, using Balram’s voice to critique the systemic inequalities perpetuated by both colonial legacies and contemporary capitalism. It allows individuals to articulate their identities outside fixed categories, thus fostering resistance against hegemonic structures, rather than simply reflecting. “Third space” as a concept is used by Bhabha and plays a pivotal role in understanding hybrid identities and cultural ambiguity in postcolonial literature. This aligns with Bhabha’s assertion that such identities emerge from cultural negotiations within the Third Space, where past and present collide to create new forms of belonging. Adiga critiques the socio-political realities that shape individual destinies, revealing how characters like Balram inhabit a Third Space where they must negotiate their identities against systemic injustices. This paper aims to explore hybrid identity and cultural ambiguity as reflected in the select texts to Bhabha’s concept of ‘hybrid space’. It offers a lens through which contemporary Indian authors such as Arundhati Roy and Aravind Adiga, foreground how identity is formed and resistance to colonial narratives is manifested.