New womanhood represents a woman in a light of confidence who is not afraid to voice out her opinions. She is independent to take decisions of her life and has her own identity. She cannot tolerate injustice against her and is brave enough to fight battles of her life and taste the fruits of victory. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s fifth novel The Palace of Illusions, is about the life of Draupadi, the mythical character of the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. Divakaruni makes an attempt to reinterpret the epic from woman's perspective. The novel deals with Draupadi's feelings. The novel shows how Draupadi evolves to be a stronger woman from her previous self. She delineates instances where Draupadi questions the system of patriarchy and its treatment of women, their assigned roles and expected behaviour. Overcoming all these, Draupadi develops a clear understanding of herself and thus accepts things as they come in her life. And finally, she grows as a woman who wants to dedicate her life to the service of people in her kingdom. Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism and political ecology. It has grown as a concept to study the mind of a woman and to analyse how closely she is related to nature.
PNB Colony, Hanuman Nagar, Gaya
