In the Clear Light of Day, one can see aspects of Desai's themes concerning women. Growing up as she did lent certain aspects to her life that others did not, perhaps, have. Living in a multilingual household, having a father that was European and not Indian, had to have contributed to a turbulent adolescence in a society still bound by certain strictures and traditions surrounding women and women's roles in society. We see this coming through in the book, Clear Light of Day, as Tara and Bim try to reconcile their current lives with the lives and dreams that they had for themselves when they were younger.
