12. The different relationships between place and identity are very clear in the book. The protagonist literally has different names in the different places she is in: Jasmine when she is in Hasnapur, Jase when she is in New York City and Jane when she is in Idaho. When she is Jasmine in Hasnapur she is what older cultures expect their women to be. Her sole purpose in life was to find a husband, and then once married bare a child for that husband. Even at first with Prakash, she stays home, and wants to have a baby. Then Prakash enlightens her, and turns her into a new woman. She learns English, and has actual dreams of moving to America with Prakash. When she is in New York City, she is a woman who will do what she must to get by. She works as an au pair for Taylor, and starts to become part of Taylor’s family. In New York she has adapted to the more modern style of living, where it’s not unusual for women to support themselves. In Idaho she becomes a nurturing wife and mother of Du. Here she is a mysterious, but still developed individual. She understands how to care for others, but at the same time she holds on to the things that have happened to her in the past.