The Theme and Use of Names and Naming in The Mistress of Spices

Since ancient times, humanity has recognized the relationship between names and power. Chitra Divakaruni weaves a similar theme into her novel, The Mistress of Spices, in which the narrator, Tilo, uses the mystical energies of spices to help those who enter her shop. Through the eyes of the Mistress, readers witness the variety of powers and influences stemming from names associated with both characters and spices. The significance of names varies, as some simply mark a character's path throughout life while others influence the bearer's behavior and actions. Divakaruni's characters represent the idea that names are living elements with the ability to define one's lineage and reputation, carry a person's identity, and serve as a tool of control and manipulation.

To begin, the idea that a name functions as a vessel of one's legacy and lineage spans across cultures. Even in modern times people have realized that individual deeds and actions across their family tree affected the overall societal image and status of the family's name. This notion reveals itself through Lalita, an abused married woman who refuses to leave her husband, Ahuja, in order to protect her family's name. Despite Ahuja's oppressive policies about his wife's use of the telephone and contact with the outside world, Lalita submits and sacrifices her individuality and human freedoms in the marriage to prevent her family from "get[ting] a bad name" (Divakaruni 105). A family name stands as such a powerful mark of reputation and status in Indian culture that a woman like Lalita would be willing to suffer silently so that no one would complain of "those headstrong Chowdhary girls" (Divakaruni 105). Lalita's last name holds great influence, since the umbrella it creates over all the sisters binds them to a life of honor. The Chowdhary name, passed down with an embedded reputation and degree of social welfare, serves as such a key element in daily life that Lalita endures rape and violence to ensure its purity.

A name symbolizes a person's value, bringing potential privileges and benefits to its bearers and playing a key role in prosperity. Therefore, Lalita's struggle to protect it finds its roots in her fear that the loss of the name's respectability can collapse her daily life and position in society. Any move that strays from a certain defined cultural path can lead to social collapse, where "your name your life" may vanish from respectable circles (Divakaruni 195). A similar element pertaining to the significance of a name appears in other works of literature, such as Beowulf, in which the main character battles ferociously on foreign lands to preserve the respectability and fame of his Geat name. The cycle of honor and respect by all family members will guarantee the continued survival of the family's positive image in the community.

In addition to its social power of reputation, a name also holds the key to one's identity. In Tilo's case, the series of names which she had carried throughout her life trace the development of her mind, spirit, and personality. As Nayan Tara, a magically-gifted young girl living in a village, she naively attempts to avenge the lack of affection she experienced by commanding the respect of all. Rather than accepting her position as another "dowry debt," Nayan Tara transforms into a seer, watching "grown men trembl[e] and thr[ow] themselves at [her] feet" to fuel her inner need for social respect and emotional care (Divakaruni 9). Consequently, the abuse of such power allows selfishness and narrow-mindedness to grow within the character's mind while any "deep sorrow" is quickly "pushed away" (Divakaruni 9). The soul who treated anyone who "was slow to [her] bidding" like scum lives through the name of Nayan Tara and represents the beginning of the narrator's social and emotional development (Divakaruni 9).

However, with the tragic razing of her village and the beginning of her new life as a Pirate Queen, the narrator realizes that the only caring and understanding people in her life had vanished. The narrator's emotional burden of having destroyed her family "brand[s] itself onto each chamber of [her] heart," giving birth to the remorseful Bhagyavati (Divakaruni 20). In this stage of her psyche, the narrator sees herself as a "bringer . . . of death" rather than a bringer of might, glory, or luck as the Indian meaning of her name would suggest (Divakaruni 20). Bhagyavati sees herself as the destroyer of her family and happiness, a fact which morphs into a "secret pain" that "she will never forget" (Divakaruni 20). Once again, the narrator's identity has evolved and undertaken a new name with a new set of beliefs, morals, and views. Moreover, such a pattern of mental transformation repeats again with the name Tilo as the narrator proceeds through the process of "purification" under the Old One's supervision to take on a new identity as "restorer of health and hope" and embody the beliefs and views of a Mistress (Divakaruni 44). Finally, this cycle ends with the introduction of Maya, the name which sheds away all powers associated with earlier names, illustrating the developmental conclusion of the narrator's identity. The narrator's various names represent elements of change along the path of the narrator's discovery of her true self.

Through Tilo's character, it becomes evident that the Mistress's ability to name a spice and to call upon it grants her control over its powers and its very existence. Each spice rests as a dull kitchen object, but once the Mistress awakens it through a variety of names, the spice undergoes a transformation. For example, the poppy seed develops from a lifeless "grain" to "khus khus," a name filled with exotic syllables and noise interpreted as a coming to life. Before the Mistress reaches out to the seed physically and speaks to it, she notes the poppy by the generic English name, a dull factual piece. However, to gain control over the spice, the Mistress must call it by its "true-name" which "has power" (Divakaruni 172). The italicized name of khus khus indicates a certain awakening in the grain's existence at that moment. The Mistress's continued chanting transforms the spice into another name, "afim," which reminds of a genuine human name. As the spice comes to life through the Mistress, "bending its will to [hers]," it reveals its ability to speak in the narrator's mind and understand her requests (Divakaruni 135).

Granted with a name, the spice bears the ability to come to life and to act as a character with the potential to influence the course of events in the novel. Possessing the true name of a person or object, even a seed, "give[s] that power into [the] listener's hands" which rests within (Divakaruni 172). Once all the names have been mentioned, the Mistress can manipulate and direct the spice's power, as exemplified by various actions of burning or soaking that follow. The variety of names awakens the spice and passes the dormant powers into Tilo's living hands. In addition, the final step on the path to becoming a Mistress who controls elements involves the reception of a unique name. The spice name which the narrator chooses, Tilo, connects the Mistress to the spices she will wield, laying a final foundation to her powers and insinuating that a proper name is crucial to controlling the grains. A dual relationship is at work here, with power resting in the spices' names and the power to connect with spices lying in the existence of a Mistress named Tilo. The privilege of knowing a spice's name and identity allows a control of the spice, which becomes fortified by the grains' connection with the Mistress' name.

Divakaruni's unique language and imagery add spice to this theme of power through names. After evaluating the methods by which names influence characters and events in the course of the literary work, it seems that the most paramount power a name has is the ability to grant life to its recipient. The essence of a human existence is carried in a name, a mark of life and proof of being. A name is perhaps the most important necessity in life, since one's very being is proven through a series of letters and sounds.

Chitra Divakaruni, "The Mistress of Spices." Knopf Publishing Group.