Diasporic Identity and Ethical Choice in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland

All the immigrants in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland suffer from overwhelming and almost universal uprootedness, which might be interpreted as an embodiment of the diasporic existence of both fictional characters in the novel and Lahiri in real life. The ethical choices of the major fictional characters in The Lowland are not only their efforts of deethnicization to reject their Indian heritage and establish themselves in American culture, but also the author’s attempt to become a normal mainstream writer by moving away from her diasporic identity, which might be difficult missions—if not impossible—as shown by the inconsistency exhibited in the life experiences of the novel’s central characters.