'Liminality' is an anthropological term which refers to the events happening at the limen (threshold) of a ritual as understood by cultural anthropologists in the early twentieth century. The term was restricted to the domain of... more
'Liminality' is an anthropological term which refers to the events happening at the limen (threshold) of a ritual as understood by cultural anthropologists in the early twentieth century. The term was restricted to the domain of anthropology until very recently, when scholars like Agnes Horvath, Bjørn Thomassen, and Harald Wydra found common grounds to associate the concept of 'liminality' to Sociology. The term has since been used in disciplines like Spatial Studies to understand the contemporary society and individuals. This paper takes into account Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novel The Palace of Illusions, which is based on the epic Mahabharata, and attempts to portray the protagonist, Draupadi, as a liminal being describing how she has been in a liminal stage for her entire life. The paper attempts a close reading of Divakaruni's novel with a liminalist critique and divides the life of Draupadi, as shown in the novel, into multiple rituals to establish Draupadi as a liminal being and through Draupadi, present the case of humans in general as existing in liminal spaces.
