52 pages • 1 hour read
Nidhi ChananiPashmina
Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Suitcase
Suitcases are used for travel, so they symbolize literal and metaphorical journeys in many stories. In Pashmina, the suitcase in Priyanka’s closet specifically symbolizes The Empowering Exploration of Cultural Heritage. Although the suitcase has been hidden away for a very long time, it often falls out of the closet and into plain sight, symbolizing the fact that Priyanka needs to go on a journey of self-discovery. Because the suitcase belongs to Priyanka’s mother, it symbolizes the idea that Priyanka’s journey will be deeply related to her mother and their shared cultural heritage. The suitcase is initially difficult to open, which implies that Priyanka’s journey will be inherently difficult and require perseverance. Priyanka’s difficulty in opening the suitcase also symbolizes her difficulty in getting her mother to “open up” about her past. Lastly, the fact that the suitcase contains the pashmina suggests that the garment will play an important role in Priyanka’s evolution.
The Pashmina
The pashmina (or shawl) symbolizes The Empowering Exploration of Cultural Heritage as well as The Impact of Family Secrets on Personal Identity. Since the pashmina belonged to Priyanka’s mother and was passed down from her mother, who obtained it from her nanny, Rohini Mitra, the pashmina is a family heirloom of Priyanka’s and symbolizes the connection between generations of women. The pashmina also has magical powers that allow each woman who wears it to evaluate her choices and imagine a better life for herself. Although the pashmina initially seems to offer nothing more than fantasies, these fantasies are actually a step along the way to a better reality for each woman. Just as the pashmina helped Priyanka’s mother decide to move to the US, it helped Rohini seek a new job caring for children instead of doing factory work, and it also helps Meena Mausi to realize that her most important priority is her daughter. In most cases, the pashmina encourages women to help themselves and to help other women as well. In this way, the pashmina symbolizes sisterhood and the value of helping others who have undergone similar struggles.
Priyanka’s Name
Priyanka’s name symbolizes The Challenges of Navigating the Immigrant Experience as well as The Empowering Exploration of Cultural Heritage. At first, Priyanka prefers to go by the nickname “Pri” instead of her full, given name because she thinks that “Pri” will be easier for most Americans to pronounce. This symbolizes how she desires to fit in with mainstream American society, and she worries that her Indian heritage is not reconcilable with the American culture to which she also belongs. The fact that very few people actually respect her wishes and call her “Pri” symbolizes the difficulty of navigating between these two cultures. Ironically, she faces this same problem in reverse when she is at home, as her mother and Uncle Jatin insist on calling her “Priyanka” because they are Indian American and do not find it difficult to pronounce her full name. At school, however, bullies go so far as to call her “Priyucka” in a racist refusal to use her preferred name. Thus, Priyanka faces identity-denying obstacles from all sides, and she has considerable trouble finding a way to fit in. However, after visiting India and learning more about her family, her heritage, and herself, Priyanka decides to embrace her given name even when she is at school, regardless of whether the other students find it difficult to pronounce. This shift emphasizes that Priyanka has come to terms with her heritage and is determined to find productive ways to navigate between her two cultures without denying either one of them.
