1) Characterisations

The novel „Heat and Dust“ by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is divided into two plot-lines which feature many similarities. These links can also be seen between the two main characters Olivia (1923) and the narrator (1970s).

The novel is about the narrator who travels to India to follow Olivia’s footsteps. During her journey she finds out many things about Olivia and her life with the Nawab and many things that happened to Olivia happen to her as well.

The narratoris an Englishwoman who travels to India to find out about her past. She’s the grandchild of Douglas and Tessie Rivers. From the very first she tries to adapt to the Indian culture, e.g. she’s wearing Indian clothes. She’s also studying Hindi which shows that the narrator is really interested in India and its culture. Although the Indians make fun of her and call her a „hijra“, the narrator tries to adapt to the Indian lifestyle, which reveals that she’s an open-minded person. She accepts the other way of living and therefore she is very tolerant as well.
Later on, the narrator gets to know Inder Lal, her landlord, and falls in love with him (at almost the same place like Olivia and the Nawab). When she gets pregnant by him, she first wants an abortion, but then changes her mind and decides to get the baby. This is the wide difference between her and Olivia’s story:

Olivia, a fine Englishwoman, is the first wife of the narrator’s grandfather. She came to India because of Douglas’ work, but does always have to stay at home with the servants. She becomes lonely and bored and feels worthless, because Douglas has no time for her. The childish and naive Olivia has no friends and seems like an outsider. Not until she meets the Nawab she changes her mind and begins to visit him more frequently.  The sensitive and emotional person (p. 29) starts an affair with the Nawab and gets pregnant by the Indian ruler. Olivia, who’s now torn between two men, decides to abort her child by making use of an Indian curative treatment. Later, she decides to leave Douglas and to stay with the Nawab who buys her a house in the mountains where she lives till the end of her life.
However, at the end Olivia is lonely again: The Nawab leaves to Britain and Olivia is on her own like she was when she was married with Doulgas.

Although Olivia and the narrator are two different persons, they have many similarities. Both of them came to India and both of them had an affair with an Indian man. They got pregnant, but only the narrator decided to get the baby.
Contrary to the narrator, Olivia never adapts to the Indian culture. She’s also unprepared when she comes to India and is inexperienced by it; in contrast, the narrator likes adventures.
However, there are also similarities: both women are very young when they come to India and both of them have to live with similar conflicts and problems, like e.g. conversation problems. Though, they resolve the problems in different ways, which results in that they continue their life in different ways likewise.

Poem about Olivia

I loved you more than I can say
though I was lonely, day after day.

Time changed our minds and took our love,
distance and sadness were high above.

Another man, another change,
this was the reason for my derange.

Discrepance was hindering my life,
am I a lover or yet the wife?

I decided for a good restart,
which couldn’t cure my broken heart.

Now I’m sitting here alone,
waiting for love, but waiting on my own…

Plotting the Story (pp. 143-165)

Explain what taboo the narrator broke in the hospital.

The narrator visits Chid in the hospital nearly every day and brings him some food. Next to Chid lies a poor man, the „fruit man“ who has a broken leg and ribs what makes him unable to move. Therefore the nurses put a bedpan under him, but very often they don’t take it away which is very disgusting for him.

The narrator breaks a taboo when one day she takes the bedpan away and empties it in the bathroom. Everyone looks at her as if she had done something terrible (p. 145, ll. 20/21). This reaction shows that the Indians dislike her actions. She, a Western Englishwoman, did the job a nurse has to do. So on the one hand, with this action the narrator puts her culture and Western world above the Indian one. This lets the Indians feel subordinated to the British, which reminds me of the time India was a British colony. I guess also the Indians are reminded of that time, when the British were superior to them and took themselves for better people. Indeed, the narrator just wants to be helpful, but she does not think about the effect her actions could have on the Indians.

On the other hand, this section could be connected with the cast system in India: Hindus believe in the earlier life of a human being. A disease or some other sufferings just derive from what the people did in their earlier lives. Hence, those people don’t deserve help; but the narrator violates this part of the Hindu religion.

Although, it has to be mentioned that apparently the narrator forgets about that Indian „rules“, because she just wants to help the fruit man.

 

What role does Maji play in the narrator’s life?

Maji has always been a educational instance for the narrator. It was her who explained her much about pilgrimages and spirituality (p. 81, l. 12).

It’s also her who offers the narrator an abortion (p. 150, l. 26). She gives advice to the narrator and when the narrator wants Maji to stop the massage, she immediately obeys her.

So all in all we can say that Maji looms large: She is a good adviser and understands the narrator’s behaviour. Majican also be seen as a connection between the British and the Indians: She is large-minded and wants to help an Englishwoman.

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).

Homework for April, 21st (p. 49-61)

Explain the contradiction that can be found in Inder Lal’s mother worshipping at the suttee shrines.

The suttee – this is an Indian rite of widow-sacrifice, which means the burning of a living widow on the funeral pyre of her husband. 

When Inder Lal’s mother takes the narrator to the suttee shrines, she worships the women who gave their life for their husbands. Inder Lal’s mother, a widow herself, behaves very respectful at the shrines. She didn’t have to die like these women, because the suttee was outlawed in 1929. 

Indeed, she has the greatest reverence for the sncient custom and regrets that it has been discontinued a long time ago, she’s happy to live, because she got the opportunity to live a good life: she experiences things like more liberties and friendship with other widows.

 

Compare Beth Crawford’s and Olivia’s reactions to suttee. Whose attitude do you find most appealing, and why?

„A grain merchant had died and his widow had been forced by her relatives to burn herself with him on his funeral pyre“.  (p. 56, ll. 20-22)

At a dinner party at the Crawford’s house everybody discusses about that fact; especially Olivia and Mrs. Crawford show very differently reactions and point of views to it.

Olivia is strongly persuaded of the idea, that there are still Indian women who burn themselves voluntary, because this could have a cultural oder religious background. In her opinion the British are not entitled to interfere with their culture; it’s their own decision how to live and how to act. Also Olivia likes the idea of dying with her husband, she describes it as a „noble idea“ (p. 59, l. 27). She would accept to commit suicide, because life for her would have no sense anymore. This fact emphasises Olivia’s love to Douglas very clearly.

In contrast to Olivia’s point of view Beth Crawford is not taken with this idea of following her husband to death. Although she loves her husband, she could never think of suicide, that would be „too noble“ for her. (p. 60, l. 28). She fears and immediately wants to get away from this discussion.

If you ask me, it’s really hard to define my own position to such a topic. I think on the one hand it’s definitely very upsetting and painful to lose a family member or another person you love. However, on the other hand, that’s not enough to bring your own life to an end as well. Even if you feel lonely and hopeless, life goes on… Imagine how life would be for all the others who lost the person, if they lose you too. I think losing a person you love also means the disposition to handle the situation. This will help you to cope difficult circumstances and also to learn something new about yourself.

My life in India – Comment

In the text „My life in India“ a son of an English civil servant tells his life story.

He tells us that he lived a wonderful and careless life when India was still a British colony. However, since the Independence of India in 1947 things turned bad for the English people. His family lost all its possessions and had to flee the country. Years later, the young man returned to India to find enlightenment and spirituality, because he was tired of the Western way of life. Life for him proved to be very difficult by reason that he was not even able to communicate with the natives.

The story of the young man is an example for many British people after India’s Independence in 1947. In the past, when they had nothing to worry about, they did’t attach importance to adapt to the natives. So this is one main reason which made it difficult for them to understand India’s population afterwards. Because they had just lived there as rulers, they were not able to live a real life like all the others there. For them India was still like England, because they were always attempting to throw their culture and way of living over India, which reveals why it was hard for the Indians to accept the Europeans after their Independene. This can also be seen in the novel (the narrator is called ‘hijra’, although she tries to assimilate).

Moreover, many of the Europeans returned to India to find enlightenment and spirituality, like the young man. But he lost all his money in search of his wishes. This also reminds me of the biography I’ve written about Felix Liebig. Felix went there to find that spirituality as well, but everything he found was his financial breakup and the life of a homeless.

Both of the young men expected something great when they came to India – the young man of the story looked forward to see the wonderful country of his childhood again, Felix wanted to start a new life- and both failed in this kind of world.