LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:7 July 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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M. S. Thirumalai
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A Study on the Controversies and Compromises in Manju Kapur’s
A Married Woman

R. A. Rajasekaran and G. Baskaran, Ph.D.

A Married Woman

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the tension we could easily identify in Manju Kapur’s novel A Married Woman. There is a cunning admixture of controversies and compromises in this novel. Self and the Other come into conflict and also make compromises. Astha's marital relationship with Hemant, her husband, seems to make her lose her self. Her dealings with her husband and relatives, followed by her daring extra-marital relationship, and masculine hegemony are analyzed. Aristotle's three notions, “deep content” consisting of hamartia (sin), anagnorisis (realization), and peripetia (reversal) are also discussed.

Keywords: Self and the Other conflict, masculine hegemony, Manju Kapur, A Married Woman, Aristotle's notions

Self and the Other

There is a discernible tension in Manju Kapur’s novel A Married Woman. The tension in this novel is due to the cunning admixture of controversies and compromises. It is a dialogue between the “self” and the “other”. The “self” symbolizes the andro-centric creed while the “other” symbolizes the gyno-centric species. On several occasions, this binary opposition crops up and mars the harmony of families by driving a wedge into the otherwise unruffled abodes of peace.

Astha’s Marital Relationship

The protagonist Astha’s marital relationship with her husband Hemant forms the nucleus of the novel. There is a strain in their relationship because of the andro-centric mindset of the latter. As Astha happens to be an English teacher, she is well-read and well-informed. She knows for certain that she is treated as the ‘other’ – the lesser mortal. She thinks that she has lost her ‘self’ for the sake of her husband, children and in-laws. She thinks that she has lost even her entity an individual. This irks her and irritates her. As a result of which, she becomes a grumbling woman. Though she tries hard to reveal her mind to her husband, she fails to do so. The unheard voice of Astha always remains unheard. Her woes too continue unabated.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

R. A. Rajasekaran
Associate Professor of English
Government Arts College
Melur 625106
Tamilnadu
India
rajasekaranarangatharasu@gmail.com

G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
Professor and Dean
Faculty of English & Foreign Languages
Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed University)
Dindigul 624 302
Tamilnadu
India
rgbaskaran@gmail.com
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