The main aim of the thesis is to study the transformation of the female protagonist in Bharati Mukherjee’s novel, Jasmine (1989) by tracing the circumstances of Jasmine’s radical identity change from an immature village girl to an independent cosmopolitan woman. I claim there is a complexity of historical, cultural and personal influences that all shape her process of finding her identity. Travelling to the United States from her hometown, Hasnapur, India, in the hope of self-realization and evolvement, Jasmine tries to break with her former self by getting rid of inhibitions that hinder her self-actualization. Shedding off her old identity is a lengthy and troublesome process for her, since the forces and norms shaping her female identity are deeply rooted in the Indian culture, which defines her personality. In her struggle to dispose her Indian self, she experiences a serious identity crisis, with little hope that she will find her place in the world.