Anti Feminine Traits of Gauri in Lahiri’s The Lowland

International Research Journal of Humanities, Language and Literature

Vol. 3, Issue 6, June 2016 IF- 3.558 ISSN: (2394-1642)

Website: www.aarf.asia Email : editor@aarf.asia , editoraarf@gmail.com

Anti-Feminine Traits of Gauri in Lahiri’s The Lowland

Dr. Vaibhav Dutt Sharma

Assist ant Pro fessor of Eng lish

DAV Co llege, Pundri

AB STRACT

Jhu mpa Lahiri is a well-kno wn Indo -American Wr iter. In her works, she ha s

presented her tradit io nal Indian fema le cha racters. But her no vel

The Lo wland

is an except io n. The protagonist of t he no vel Gauri seems to be portrayed as an

Ant i-hero ine who frees herself fro m all the restrict io ns which restrains her

freedo m.

Keywords: wo manhood, se lfish, freedo m, motherhood.

Jhumpa Lahir i is one of t he most emi nent diaspor ic wr it ers. S he is ca lled a n Indo

-Amer ica n wr it er as, t hor ough her wor ks , she pr esents India n sensibilit y abr oad. In her

novels she is a sort of r epr esentat ive figur e for t he fema le pr edica ment in diaspora. She

herself is a child of immigrat ion a nd mult i -culturalism. In her ear lier publications, La hir i

repr esents women in cult ural cont ext whet her she is in India or abr oa d. S he pr esents t he

ramifications of patr iarchy on t he lives of India n women. S he has shown t h at women’

individua lit y is snat ched, and t heir emot ions, t heir feeli ngs ha ve been neglect ed. La hiri’s

female characters do not have any identity. But Lahiri’s The Lowland (2013) is differ ent

from her pr evious wor ks. In her earlier wor ks, she has cr eat ed su ch fema le charact ers

who never lea ve t heir tra dit iona l India n woma nhood, but in t his novel, she has portra yed

a charact er who shuns off not only her t radit iona l india nness but also her ver y

woma nhood. T his paper att empts t o study t he ant i -her oine charact er ist ics of it s centra l

In ear lier wor ks of La hiri, fema le pr ota gonists cr eat e t heir own space, but

simulta neously t hey follow t he tradit iona l path of t heir woma nhood as defined by t he

societ y. On t he ot her ha nd, Gaur i becomes an outsider in t he novel. S he fails t o cr eat e

bonding wit h her in-la ws and Sub hash, her second husba nd. In fact, she never tries t o set

any bonding wit h t hem. S he wit hdra ws hersel f fr om her dut ies – dut y as a daught er

-in-la w, as a mot her a nd as a wife. It is right ly s aid t hat “T he Low-in-la nd is a novel about t he

rashness of yout h, as well as t he hesitat ion a nd r egr et t hat ca n ma ke a long life not wort h

living,” (http:// www. npr.or g/ 2013/ 09/23/ 223425487/ wit h. c om) Gaur i becomes a selfis h

woma n. Knowing t he idea logies of Uda ya n, Gauri marries him, but lat er, she t hinks

whet her he marr ied her so he could a ccess her help in a chieving his goa ls in r evolut ions.

She wa nts to be fr ee, wa nts t o be independent , and wa nts t o run awa y fr om t he imposed

dut ies. F or her own sa ke only, she comes t o Amer ica a nd marries Subhash. T his is t he

reason t hat she is unable t o for m a ny connect ion wit h Bel a and Subhash. One ca n

understa nd t hat it is difficult for Gauri t o become a good wi fe of Subhash who is t he

younger br ot her of Uda ya n, her first husba nd, b ut what about Bela. Gaur i could be a good

mot her at least. Bela was only t welve when Ga uri lea ves her a nd Subhash. S he sta ys wit h

Bela and Subhash, but never pr ovides fa mili al happines s. Bela is a lwa ys depr ived of

mot her ly love. Gaur i is a lwa ys indiffer ent t owar ds Bela fr om t he t ime she was an infa nt

“... every time he picked Bela up when she cried so that Gauri did not have to, she could

not deny t he r elief she felt at being allowed, however br iefly, t o st ep aside. ” (TL: 173)

Subhash tries t o do his dut ies as a husba nd, as a father. He never disturbs Gaur i,

never tries t o impose himself upon her. “ Subhash ga ve her t he bed r oom a nd t old her he

would sleep on t he sofa.. .”(151) Subhash giv es her liber t y, gives her money a nd spa ce.

“He trusted that things would change, after the baby came. That the child would bring

them t oget her, first as par ents, t hen as husba nd a nd wife. ” (165) In t he beginning , he

alwa ys knocks at t he door. He never tries t o approach her for physical r elat ion wit hout

her wish. But lat er when she shows willingness, it excit es hi m. “ S he did not spea k t o him,

but aft er t he first few t imes she bega n t o ta ke his ha nd and put it wher e she needed it t o

be ... It was t he only moment he felt no part of her r esist ing hi m. ” (177) All t his shows

that she a llows him only t o fulfill her needs, never spea ks t o him but establishes physica l

relat ion. When Subha sh asks for child wit h him a nd a compa nio n for Bela, Gauri asks t o

wait “And so he continued hoping, though every month, in the medicine cabinet, was a

new pa cket of birt h-contr ol pills.” (191) She is not grat eful t o Subhash who r edeems her

from the agony she was experiencing at his parents’ home. Bela’s arrival also fails t o

becomes a n except ion. Subhash’s mot her also war ned hi m t hat Gauri was “too wit hdra wn,

too aloof to be a good mother” (114)

Gauri is indiffer ent t owar ds Bela t oo. S he a lwa ys wa nts t o be a wa y fr om her.

That's why, it is Subhash who alwa ys accompa nies Bela. “ She (Gaur i) wa it ed for Subhash

to ta ke over, t o a llow her t o lea ve ...” (196) She a lwa ys keeps on finding excuses t o go

outside, lea ving Bela all alone at home . “So it bega n in t he aft er noons. Not ever y

aft er noon but oft en enough, t oo oft en, d isor ient ed by t he sense of fr eedom, devour ing t he

sensat ion as a beggar devours food. ”(20) Women in India ha ve a dapt ed well t o t he

moder n wa ys of life st yle while st ill keeping in mind t he tra dit iona l wa ys of societ y.

They ar e efficient enough t o perfor m bot h domest ic and professiona l r oles. India n wom en

are str ong pillars t o hold t heir fa mily. These qua l it ies ma ke t hem excel t o pla y t he r oles

of mot her, daught er, wife et c. But wher e does Gaur i sta nd her e. If we obser ve her

charact er car efully, we find her a la dy who wants fr eedom, isolat ion, a nd priva cy at a ny

cost. “ A woma n bor n a hea d of her t ime, unsuit ed bot h by t empera ment a nd int ellect t o t he

conventions demanded by her culture…but this forging of a new self comes at a terrible cost of her family” (http://www.thegaurdian.com>07.) She spends her childhood awa y

from her par ent s. But she feels t hat it is good for her t o be a way t o live her life in her

own way. “She didn’t think she resented her parents for not raising her... Really she

appreciat ed t hem for lett ing her go her own wa y. ” (TL: 68)

One must r espect ot her’s priva cy a nd spa ce. Gauri, like ever yone else, wa nts space

and priva cy, and Sub hash himself provides her this space a nd pr ivacy. He tr ies his best t o

bring up Bela himself. He never tries to tr ouble Gaur i for anyt hing. He wa it s for her

“Almost five years ago they had begun their journey as husband and wife, but he was still

wa it ing t o arrive somewher e wit h her.” (190) It was Subha sh who t ook sta nd for Gaur i

and fought with his parents, “You can’t separate them. For Uda yan’s sake accept her. ”

(114) He wa nt ed t o br ing her to Amer ica only t o help Gau r i fr om t he cru elt ies of his

parent s and police inquir es, “ To take his br ot her ’s pla ce, t o raise his child, t o c ome t o

love Gaur i as Uda ya n ha d. ” (115) But Gaur i never tr ies to live a life wit h S ubhash a nd

her daught er Bela. S he is “an angr y, selfish woma n, who will r epa y wit h Subhash’ s

genr osit y a nd kindness a nd his efforts t o invent a ne w life for t hem in R hode Isla nd wit h

chilly disr egar d. ”(htt p:// mobile-nyt imes. com/2013/09/20/books/ jhumpa -la hir is

-new-novel-t he-lowla nd. ht ml& hl=IN ) It is Subhash who hopes for a fa mil y, living t oget her

wit h Gauri a nd Bela. Bela, t oo, loves Subhash. When she was a kid only she sa ys t o

understa nds t he feeli ngs of true love a nd car e of her fat her. Bela sa ys t o her fat her "I'll

never go a wa y fr om you, Baba.” (TL: 212) Gauri r ema ins a n outsider in her fa mil y,

unable t o for m a last ing bond wit h her in -la ws, Subhash a nd Bela. S he is isolat ed ha ving

a sense of dista nce fr om Bela a nd Subhash. She t hinks t hat Uda ya n marr ied her t o fulfill

his movement ’s act ivit ies, and he never per for med his dut ies t owar ds her . That is why,

she exper iences a nger and r esent ment t owar ds Subhash because he per for ms his dut ies, as

a husba nd a nd as a par ent, ver y well.

Gauri ta kes a har d st ep a nd ult imat ely lea ves S ubhash a nd Bela. S he is a n

indiffer ent mot her a nd wife, a flat woma n wit h no mot her ly emot ions. That is the r eason

she lea ves a ll alone.

R eaders will wa nt t o dislike her, for she is a n indiffer ent mot her, incapabl e

of loving daught er Bela . Her grat itude t owar ds Subhash tur ns t o r esent ment,

even as it is t hr ea ded wit h guilt .

htt p:// www.popmatt ers.com/175580t helowla nby-jhumpa -la nwhir

d-2495720805. ht ml. )

It seems as she was looking for a cha nce t o escape. S he never does her dut y as a parent,

as a wife a nd now she escapes. S he moves a wa y t o Ca lifor nia for her o wn car eer, t hinking

about herself only, not about her own daught er and husba nd. It ca n be underst ood if

someone aba ndons someone else’s child, but t o aba ndon her own child is quit e difficult t o

understa nd a nd accept. Bot h Bela a nd Subhash ar e not pr ovided wit h a ny fa milia l

happiness fr om her. Gaur i accepts a t ea ching posit ion in a college . S he wa nt s t o go a wa y

from her fa mily. when Gaur i meets Bela aft er so ma ny years Bela asks her t o “ .... Go

back t o what ever it was that was mor e i mporta nt… I ca n't sta nd t he sight of you...

Not hing will excuse what you did. ” (382) Bela bursts out on Gauri, “you’r e as dea d t o me

as he is. The only difference is that you left me by choice.” (385)

Gauri is a selfish la dy, ungrat eful, who does not deser ve a n iota of her husba nd’ s

(Subhash) blindness. A person who has gone t hr ough so much har dship is not supposed t o

do a ny wr ong t o ot her s, but Gauri does, a nd does it t o her own daught er a nd husba nd. S he

deni es a ll t he r esponsibilit ies of a wife, a nd a mot her. S he sheds a ll t he qua lit ies of a n

India n woma n, by cutt ing s hort her long ha ir and shedding her tra dit iona l sar ees. She is

seen mast urbating in a toilet being attract ed t o a stranger. She has a t emporar y physica l

relat ionship wit h a fema le student as well. Lahir i seems t o defy a ll t he not ions of a

Thus, Gauri emer ges in t he t ext as an ant i -her oine. C ont empt comes natura lly for

her as she fr ees herself from a ll t he r espon sibilit ies which come in t he wa y of her

fr eedom. She never t hink s what would happen wit h t he member s of her fa mily. S he

renounces mot her hood which is consider ed t o be t he gr eat est honour a nd blessing for a ny

woma n. S o she is a fema le only biologica lly, wit hout possessing a ny femini ne qualit y.

References

Lahir i, Jhumpa. The Lowland. Gur goa n: Ra ndom House Publisher s India P vt. Lt d., 2013.

htt p:// mobile-nyt imes. com/2013/09/ 20/books/ jhumpa -la hir is-new-novel-t he-lowla nd. ht ml& hl=IN

htt p:// www. npr. or g/2013/09/23/223425487/ wit h. com

htt p:// www.popmatt ers.com/175580t helowla nd-by-jhumpa -la nwhir d-2495720805. ht ml.

htt p:// www.t hegaur dia n.com>07.