R.K. Narayan's Indian Women Guide Interpretation Environment

Authors

  • Swagata Roy Assistant Professor, Motilal Nehru College (evening). Delhi University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36676/jrps.v15.i3.1621

Keywords:

R.K. Narayan, The Guide, Indian women, interpretation, hermeneutics, symbolism, gender norms

Abstract

In The Guide, written by R.K. Narayan, Indian women are portrayed in a variety of complex ways that represent the socio-cultural dynamics of India during the middle of the 20th century. Each of these depictions is interpreted in this study. This analysis emphasises on Rosie's development of self-awareness and her refusal to conform to social conventions. Rosie is a representative of a variety of female experiences that are depicted in the book. The purpose of this study is to investigate the narrative strategies and thematic concerns of Narayan in order to demonstrate how she subtly criticises patriarchal conventions that restrain women while simultaneously celebrating their resiliency and individuality. From this perspective, Narayan's portrayal of Indian women as both products and difficulties of their culture is brought into closer focus. In addition to contributing to topics on gender and literature, the study sheds light on Indian womanhood in The Guide.

References

i. Narayan, R.K. The Guide. Penguin Books, 1958.

ii. Anand, Mulk Raj. The Guide by R.K. Narayan: A Modern Indian Metamorphosis. Journal of Commonwealth Literature, vol. 1, no. 1, 1965, pp. 13-21.

iii. Gokhale, Namita. In the Name of the Goddess: The Woman as Victim and Vixen in The Guide. Indian Literature, vol. 37, no. 2, 1994, pp. 115-123.

iv. Desai, Anita. Novel of the Month: R.K. Narayan's The Guide. World Literature Today, vol. 76, no. 2, 2002, pp. 42-43.

v. Grover, Shuchi. An Exploration of Gender Roles in R.K. Narayan's The Guide. Language in India, vol. 12, no. 12, 2012, pp. 426-438.

vi. Pathak, Praveen Kumar. Exploration of Women's Identity Crisis in R.K. Narayan's The Guide. The Criterion, vol. 3, no. 6, 2012, pp. 1-7.

vii. Arooran, Kannappa. In Search of Identity: A Reading of R.K. Narayan's The Guide. The IUP Journal of English Studies, vol. 8, no. 1, 2013, pp. 62-68.

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Published

30-08-2024

How to Cite

Swagata Roy. (2024). R.K. Narayan’s Indian Women Guide Interpretation Environment. International Journal for Research Publication and Seminar, 15(3), 510–513. https://doi.org/10.36676/jrps.v15.i3.1621