india author m 1- a-nan - University of Wollongong

18. Structure in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya. V. B. GUBATI. 248-62. Studies the
structure of Markandaya's novels in terms of the motifs, dynamic and static, and the leitmotifs.
The majority of the motifs in Nectar in a Sieve are static; the leitmotif "nothing" conveys the
idea of the futility of the poor man's struggle, and links up with the title. In Some Inner Fury,
the leitmotif is violence, "fury". A Silence of Desire has a well knit structure dominated by
static motifs. The structure of Possession is weak because of the choice of narrator, though
the leitmotif "possession" throws light on all relationships in the novel. Unity of structure is
achieved in A Handful of Rice through the leitmotif "rice". Static motifs underlying the plot and
characterisation make The Nowhere Man an organic whole. Gulati feels that the structure of
the next three novels is loose.
Bibliography. 263-66.
PRASAD, HARI MOHAN. "The Quintessence of Kamala Markandaya's Art."
Commonwealth Quarterlv no.9 (1978): 173-85.
Overview of her novels, in terms of theme and language. Nectar in a Sieve presents a
ruthlessly realistic picture of rural poverty. A Handful of Rice is another variant of this theme of
hunger, in an urban setting. Two Virgins is about the growing up of Saroja. Possession, The
Coffer Dams, and The Nowhere Man are explications of East-West encounter In narration or
language, Markandaya has little proneness to experimentation.
RAMAMURTI. K. S "Kamala MarkandayaJs Two Virgins: A Problem Novel." Litcrit 7,
no.2 (1981): 36-45.
Two Virgins does not live up to the standards set by Markandaya's earlier novels. It
has no well-defined central theme, and the language is dull and monotonous. The action of this
picaresque novel is linear, little dependent on character or environment. There is no sharp
differentiation in character between the narrator Saroja and her elder sister Lalitha. The
vagueness of the location and the strange names detract from the realism of the narrative. It
reveals the author's excessive preoccupation with sex in its coarsest form. Two Virgins is an
interesting study on the themes of escape and initiation. Another merit of the novel is its use of
symbols.
RAO, A V. KRISHNA. "Kamala Markandaya and the Novel of Sensibility." The Indo-
Anglian Novel and the Changing Tradition. (Mysore: Rao and Raghavan, 1972): 50-67.
Rao presents an analysis of the way the first four novels of Kamala Markandaya
reflect the consciousness of change, and the strange and inescapable ways it has come to
shape the character of individuals. Markandaya has evolved a fictional technique which keeps
in perfect balance the reality of the world outside and that of the individual within. Unlike Mulk
Raj Anand, she lets her characters grow into society. She presents a complex pattern of
interaction between the individual and the aggregate of humanity in terms of symbols,
especially in A Silence of Desire and possession.
RAO, A. V. KRISHNA. "Continuity and Change in the Novels of Kamala Markandaya."
Perspectives on Kamala Markandava, edited by Madhusudhan Prasad (Ghaziabad: Vimal
Prakashan, 1984): 1-25.
Primarily thematic study, though Rao pays attention to linguistic style and plot
structure. Markandaya's accent is on the drama of life, not ideology. She explores the impact
of change in terms of human psychology. Her fiction reveals cultural continuity in the midst of
social, economic and political change in modern India. The first three novels are preoccupied
with the national self-image in various foci. Possession, the fourth novel, probes an alien