ShodhPatra: International Journal of Science and Humanities

From Domestic Roles to Public Identity: A Liberal Feminist Perspective of Anuja Chauhan’s The House That BJ Built

Anuja Chauhan’s The House That BJ Built portrays women as they negotiate the expectations of family life while gradually stepping into visible social roles beyond the household. Liberal feminism promotes equal opportunities for women in education, employment, and legal rights to enable full participation in society. Anuja Chauhan’s novel depicts the Thakur family at 16 Hailey Road, where the granddaughter, Bonita Singh Rajawat, transforms the upstairs space into a thriving tailoring unit called Vicky’s Secret. The novel follows her daily management of members, including Parveen and the head tailor, Daulat Master, amid family pressures from step-cousin Samar Vir Singh’s unexpected return after his Sparkler Awards scandal. Bonu’s efforts to maintain economic stability contrast with the patriarch, Justice Laxmi Narayan Thakur’s, declining health and the historical partition of the house among his daughters, Anjini, Binni, Chandralekha, Debjani, and Eshwari. These elements illustrate women shifting from confined household duties to independent professional roles while claiming a share in family assets. The novel also highlights Samar’s interactions with Bonu and BJ during his stay downstairs, revealing tensions over access to the upstairs, which is locked. Such developments align with liberal feminist calls for removing barriers that limit women’s contributions beyond the home. The novel thus portrays practical steps toward gender parity through business ownership and property rights without disrupting core family bonds. Keywords: Liberal feminism, economic independence, property rights, family inheritance, professional women, Thakur family