As a bookish child in Calcutta, I used to thrill to the adventures of bad girls whose pursuit of happiness swept them outside the bounds of social decency. Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Emma Bovary and Anna Karenina lived large in my imagination. The naughty girls of Hollywood films flirted and knew how to drive.

Bharati Mukherjee’s quote, "As a bookish child in Calcutta, I used to thrill to the adventures of bad girls whose pursuit of happiness swept them outside the bounds of social decency," reflects her fascination with the rebellious female characters in literature. Growing up in Calcutta, Mukherjee was drawn to stories of women who defied societal expectations in their quest for personal freedom and fulfillment. These bad girls, like Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Emma Bovary, and Anna Karenina, became central figures in her imagination, representing a kind of empowerment through their defiance, even if it came with tragic consequences.

The names Mukherjee references—Tess, Emma, and Anna—are iconic literary characters who are often viewed as tragic figures due to their pursuit of love and happiness, which ultimately leads them outside the conventional boundaries of their societies. By mentioning them, Mukherjee is acknowledging how these characters shaped her understanding of freedom, passion, and rebellion in literature. Their struggles with social decency were a source of both fascination and emotional engagement for her as a young reader.

Mukherjee also contrasts these literary characters with the naughty girls of Hollywood films, who, in her view, embodied a different form of liberation. The bad girls of Hollywood, who "flirted and knew how to drive," represent a more playful, modern kind of independence. The reference to Hollywood films indicates her exposure to Western media, where women were portrayed as more confident and assertive, combining both sexuality and autonomy in a way that captivated her imagination.

Ultimately, the quote captures Mukherjee's early exposure to complex female characters and how they shaped her views on freedom, identity, and ambition. These literary and cinematic influences helped form her own understanding of what it means to defy societal expectations in the pursuit of self-discovery and happiness, offering both a literary and cultural lens through which she would later explore themes of independence and cultural conflict in her own writing.