The Tiger's Daughter: Character Mind Map & Summary
The key characters of Bharati Mukherjee's The Tiger's Daughter (1971), grouped into branches, with the key episodes, a quick summary and the exam facts that come up again and again in UGC NET.
The Character Mind Map
Tap any name to open the details.
Tara Banerjee Cartwright
A Bengali Brahmin girl, daughter of a rich industrialist called "the Bengal Tiger". After seven years in America (Vassar College) and marriage to an American, she returns home and finds she no longer belongs in Calcutta.
Ending: trapped in a car during a riot, her fate left open👑 Family
The BanerjeesThe Bengal TigerTara's father
Role: A proud, powerful businessman of old Bengal.
Tara's MotherTraditional
Role: Prays and keeps the home rituals.
David CartwrightTara's American husband
Role: Absent; his letters show he does not understand India.
🏠 Old Friends
The Catelli-Continental groupPronob, Reena & SanjayChildhood friends
Role: Rich young Bengalis who meet at the Catelli-Continental Hotel.
Antonia WhiteheadAn English woman
Role: Part of the group.
🤝 The Outsiders
Calcutta's changeP. K. TuntunwalaA Marwari politician
Role: A crude businessman who sexually assaults Tara at a Darjeeling resort.
Joyonto Roy ChowdhuryA decaying aristocrat
Role: Shows Tara the slums and the fall of the old elite.
Memory Hook
One simple pattern to remember the whole work.
Key Episodes
The turning points examiners love to ask about.
Quick Summary
The story, stage by stage.
Part 1Homecoming
- Tara's journey home.
- She sees India with foreign eyes.
Part 2Old Friends
- The Catelli-Continental group.
- Talk of politics and fear of the Naxalites.
Part 3Tuntunwala
- His interest in Tara.
- The trip to Darjeeling.
Part 4Shock
- The assault.
- She cannot tell anyone.
Part 5The Riot
- The city explodes; Tara is trapped in the car.
- The novel ends in uncertainty.
Must-Know Exam Facts
Quick points for UGC NET, SET and PGT.
Debut
Mukherjee's first novel (1971).
Theme
Expatriate alienation, East and West, the decay of the Bengali elite.
Background
The Naxalite unrest of 1960s Calcutta.
Autobiography
Mukherjee herself was the daughter of a rich Calcutta family and married a Canadian, Clark Blaise.
Later Novels
Wife (1975), Jasmine (1989).
Indian Literature
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All these character mind maps in one printed book.
