Cartographies of Youth: Mapping Identity and Emotion in Durjoy Datta’s The Boy Who Loved and The Boy with a Broken Heart

Mrs. Anu. D; Dr.  Senitha. R; Dr. M. Saji

doi:10.69980/redvet.v25i2.2525

Mrs. Anu. D Full-time Research Scholar in English, Research Centre in English, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil, 629 002, Kanykumari District. (Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapathi, Tirunelveli- 627012), Tamil Nadu, India
Dr. Senitha. R Assistant Professor of English, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil, 629 002, Kanyakumari District. (Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapathi, Tirunelveli – 627012), Tamil Nadu, India
Dr. M. Saji Associate Professor & Head, Department of English, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil – 629002, Kanyakumari District. (Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapathi, Tirunelveli – 627012.), Tamil Nadu, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.69980/redvet.v25i2.2525

Keywords: Cartography of Youth, Identity Formation, Emotional Landscapes, Psychological Trauma, Romantic Relationships, Self-Discovery and Contemporary Indian Fiction

Abstract

Contemporary Indian popular fiction offers a lot of insights into the emotional, psychological and social experiences of youth in India as it changes. In The Boy Who Loved and The Boy with A Broken Heart, Durjoy Datta has delved into the intricate dynamics of the young identity, emotional fragility, romantic bond and psychological recovery. This paper considers the emotional geography of youth using the metaphor of cartography. It investigates how the protagonists negotiate love, loss, trauma, family expectations, social restrictions and the desire for personal freedom. The study is especially on the emotional isolation of Raghu Ganguli after the trauma and the difficulties faced in asserting her identity in a narrow-minded family and society by Advaita. In their interwoven experiences, Datta portrays youth as a transitional state in which emotional struggles are present and through which one is constantly negotiating between individual wants and social demands. Using the lenses of youth studies, identity theory and affect studies, the paper uses close textual analysis to examine the psychological and interpersonal aspects of the novels selected. It suggests that the emotional paths of the protagonists symbolically map the journeys of today's youth, such that heartbreak and resilience, affection and hope are important coordinates in growing up. The study concludes that the novels go beyond the traditional romance genre and depict the youth as a dynamic negotiation of emotions and self-realisation.

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