Constructing Love, Beauty, and Selfhood in Durjoy Datta's Our Impossible Love

Abstract

Durjoy Datta's Our Impossible Love explores the emotional and psychological landscapes of contemporary Indian youth, focusing on love, beauty, identity, and societal pressures. This paper examines how the novel critiques socially constructed standards of beauty, highlights moral and emotional dilemmas, and emphasizes the transformative power of relationships. Drawing on literary theories—including poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, reader-response theory, and humanist perspectives the study analyzes quotations from the novel to uncover the interplay between societal norms, individual desire, and moral aspiration. By integrating theorist quotations, the paper demonstrates how Datta’s narrative reflects urban youth experiences while challenging dominant ideals of beauty, love, and selfhood.

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