Plotting the Story (pp. 127-143)

Explain Chid’s change.

When Chid comes back, he has changed in two ways. On the one hand his outward appearance has changed, on the other hand his inner life has changed as well.

The characters in the novel react very disparate to that:

The first time the narrator sees him again, she does not really recognize Chid, because he has disrobed his Indian clothes which made him once look like an Indian ascetic. Now she describes him as a ‘Christian boy’ (p. 129, l. 21). For his circumstances Chid became very quiet and it seems that he left all his old life behind, Inder Lal’s mother and Ritu included (p. 129, ll. 25/26).  The narrator doesn’t really understand why he has changed so much, he does not even eat Indian food. Chid does everything to not to get involved with the Indian culture anymore. So actually the narrator has to cook for him.

Inder Lal is very disappointed with Chid’s change. He always liked to listen to his stories and to learn from his knowledge about spirituality. For him it would have been better if he hadn’t returned (p. 130, ll. 5/6).

Maybe Chid changed his life because he was not able to live an ascetic life. It has always been very hard for him to live this life (e.g. he had to call home to ask for more money). Possibly this became too much for him and he realised that the spirituality and Hindu religion were just a pretence for him to live this life. Because when you see that he now looks like a Christian boy, it’s recognizable that he never really did it because of belief in God: nobody can swap the religion from one day to another.

Like many other Europeans Chid didn’t manage his life in India without help. His dreams didn’t come true which made it always more difficult for him.

In my opinion Chid is the best example for Europeans who came to India with many expectations which weren’t fulfilled. He failed and turned back to his old life as an Englishman.

 

Plotting the Story (pp. 103-127)

pp. 109-116

Examine the changes in Olivia’s perceptions of Douglas.

Olivia had always loved Douglas for his special character traits like his steadfastness, his solidness and above all: his strength and manliness. However, in Olivia’s view, his manliness has changed in a way and turned into an unmasculine side. Not that he’s not manly any longer, but he can’t get her pregnant and that’s what disturbs Olivia.

Maybe Olivia has changed her perception of Douglas, because she spends a lot of time with Harry and especially the Nawab. The Nawab represents a very strong man with much power; he does not have much power anymore, however he always tries to stand above everything. So we can say that he seems to have power…

I could imagine that the Nawab embodies Olivia’s view of ‘the perfect husband’ who can save her and her family. I would say that her unrealised desire for a baby is just the trigger for her doubts against Douglas.

Plotting the Story (pp. 90-102)

12 June

Inder Lal asks the narrator why she has come to India. From everything you’ve read so far, list possible reasons and evaluate them.

The narrator tells Inder Lal that she’s come because of her ancestry and her relations in India. She wants to find out about Olivia (who was her grandfather’s first wife) and her story with the Nawab. During her journey the narrator gets also interested and finally involved in the Indian culture. She becomes friends wih Inder Lal and his mother as well.

Maybe the narrator was not only looking for her ancestry, but also for spirituality in India. She tells Inder Lal that the Europeans got tired of the materialism of the West and with coming to India they hope to find a simpler and more natural way of life. This can also be found in her way of living in India: She does not need much for living; furniture and decoration is not as much important to her as to Olivia. The narrator also can’t understand why Inder Lal often feels ashamed before her because of the way he is living. She’s happy to have found a place where materialism is not the most important thing (like e.g. in England).

pp. 100-102

Why does Olivia so eagerly wish to have a baby?

Olivia, who has been lonely for a long time in India, wants to have a baby. Because her husband is absent for most of the time, she would like to have a baby to care about someone. If she had a baby she would always have a piece of Douglas at home, it would be with her at all times. Olivia sees another possibility in the idea of having a baby: It would give her lonely life a (new) sense and maybe she and her husband would weld together.

In  my opinion, the main idea of Olivia having a baby is to have more time with her husband. Possibly she thinks that Douglas would take great care about her and the baby; otherwise Olivia would always see the „little Douglas“ in her baby.

Plotting the Story (pp. 77-90)

30 April

Analyse what sort of treatment is prescribed for Inder Lal’s wife, and why.

One day Inder Lal’s wife Ritu, who is mentally ill, is going to have treatment. The Indians think that she might be possessed by an evil spirit and try her to get rid of it. The narrator, in contrast to the Indian miracle healers, thinks that Ritu’s illness can’t be controverted by such methods. She proposes Inder Lal to try a psychiatric treatment and wants to explain it to him. However, he does not want such a treatment for his wife. Inder Lal doesn’t like the transcription „treatment“.
pp. 82-90

Outline Olivia’s daily routine.

Olivia’s daily routine is nearly always the same.
Every day when she wakes up, she gets dressed and has breakfast with her husband Douglas.
Afterwards, when Douglas has left for work, she gets ready for the next step: early in the morning Harry arrives and takes Olivia to Khatm to the Nawab’s palace. She already got used to these morning drives and learned to like them. At the palace, the trio (which consists of Olivia, Harry and the Nawab) spends the day in the drawing-room where they have a good time. By and by the Nawab and Olivia became friends.

In the evenings Olivia, already arrived at home again, has a great time with her husband. Spending lovely evenings and nights together is one of the reasons why Olivia doesn’t tell Douglas about her daily visits at the Nawab’s palace. She does not want to ruin this harmony between them.

The Suttee

“Being in favour of a barbaric ritual like the suttee reveals Olivia to be unreasonable, naive and disloyal. Her infatuation with the Indian culture makes her ignore that oppression, barbarism and cruelty are rife in this country.”

I don’t think that Olivia has an infatination with the Indian culture. For example, she doesn’t really have Indian friends except the Nawab. This is one of the reasons why she doesn’t know much about their culture as well.

In my opinion Olivia isn’t really in favour of the suttee, she just tries to get more attention at the dinner party, because it seems that the others ignore her. Olivia inly wants to „take another stand“ (p. 59, l. 26).

For Olivia the suttee means showing how much she loves her husband Douglas and also showing her loneliness in India (because Douglas has no time for her).