Postcolonial Feminist Theory: An Overview - Igcollege.org

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Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, NandedReflection of Feminist Anger against Gender Discriminations inArundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things--Mothe Prashant SubhashraoAdarsh Senior College,Omerga. Dist.Osmanabad(MS)Arundhati Roy’s debut novel ‘TheGod of Small Things’ rapidly become a worldrenowned literary sensation after it waspublished in New Delhi in 1997 and wonprestigious Booker Prize Award. ‘The God ofSmall Things’ is a protest novel which isradical, subversive, unconventional and taboobreaking.It is in this sense that the novelwould be read as a post-colonial novel becauseit aims at destroying the old power-structure.Roy expresses her disillusionment with thesocial conditions of the post-colonial world inwhich the untouchables of the past still face ahostile society that does not let them live asfree and independent individuals.Roy vividly portrays the acutesuffering and deep frustration of the weakersections of our society like the Paravans, theScheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, Dalitsand so on. The Paravan, Velutha, whom wemay call the male protagonist of the novel, islooked down upon almost at every stage in hislife. As a small boy, when he visits theAyemenem House in the company of hisfather to deliver the coconuts plucked from thetrees in the compound, they come from theback entrance and later as a mature man, he isfalsely implicated in a case of attempted rapeof Ammu.Roy powerfully portrays the miserablecondition of the Paravans in The God of SmallThings. Here discrimination expresses itself inmarginalizing the ‘untouchables’ in theirpersonal and public life. A completeappreciation of ‘The God of Small Things’requires an awareness of the caste system inKerala. The community represented in TheGod of Small Things is Syrian Christian. TheChristians of Kerala are divided into fivecategories: Roman Catholic, Orthodox Syrian,Nestorian, Marthoma, and Anglican. In thenovel religions differences appear in thedisagreements between the Roman CatholicChurch and the Marthoma Church. Roy pointsout number of Paravans and members of otherlow castes converted to Christianity, they weremade to have separate churches and thuscontinued to be treated as Untouchables. Royaptly put in plain words as, “It was a little likehaving to sweep away your footprints with abroom or worse, not being allowed to leaveany footprints at all” (p.57). AfterIndependence, they were denied governmentbenefits created for ‘untouchables’ becauseofficially they were Christians and thereforeCasteless. “They were not entitled to anyGovernment benefits like job reservation orbank loans at low interest rates” (p.71).Velutha, the Paravan, can perhaps becalled the hero of the novel and he is the ‘God’in The God of Small Things. He is a carpenter,a rebel, a trade unionist. Velutha is highlyintelligent an excellent carpenter with anengineer mind, but he is also ‘The God ofLoss’.Roy articulates, “He left no footprints in sand,no ripples in water, no images in mirrors”(p.265). The untouchables were made to sufferhumiliations at the hands of the Hindus andChristians. On the one hand we have a groupof characters, Mammachi, Baby Koachammaand Kochu Maria the cook, who perpetuate thedivision of caste, race and gender. On theother hand, Ammu and Twins, Rahel andEstha, consciously and unconsciously resistthese hierarchies. Roy throws light on,“Perhaps Ammu, Estha and Rahel were theworst transgressors. They all broke therules…they all tampered with laws that laydown who should be loved and how. Howmuch” (p.31).Mammachi discovered Velutha’stalent for carpentry when he was just eleven,about three years younger than Ammu. Sheenrolled him into the Untouchable School thatwas started by her father-in-law. Everyafternoon after school Velutha worked withJohn Kelin, a carpenter in Bavaria and learntcarpentry. But his self-assurance disturbed hisfather, Vellya Pappen. As a result of familybickering, Velutha left home. Apart from hiscarpentry skills, Velutha had a way with themachines. Mammachi often said, “If only hehadn’t been a Paravan, he might have been an365 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1
Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedengineer” (p.62). He mended radios, clocks,water-pumps and look after the other electricalgadgets in the house. He knew more about themachines in the factory than anyone else. Hewas a useful handyman in the Paradise PicklesFactory. . He excels his fellow workers in theParadise Pickles Factory, but they resent towork with him for his untouchability. Caste isthe dominant factor on party lines. Even Pillaicalls Velutha not by his name but by his caste,a ‘Paravans’ (p.278). Velutha’s lack ofcomplacency causes him many problemsthroughout the novel. Roy clarifies that, “Itwas not entirely his fault that he lived in asocially where a man’s death could be moreprofitable than his life” (p.267). At anotherplace Comrade is seen discussing from hisTouchable like job as, “But see, Comrade, anybenefits that you give him, naturally others areresenting it. They see it as a partiality. Afterall, whatever job he does carpenter orelectrician or whatever it is, for them he is justa Paravan” (p.82).Velutha is caught inbetween right and wrong, sanity and insanity,morality and immorality.It is a story about the rights of thewomen and the untouchables verses age oldrestrictions imposed by the tradionalists Indiansociety. The higher ups in the society are ableto do all kinds of damage to those who are inthe lower strata of the society. Veluthacertainly stands out as a very tall figure in thenovel. After returning to Ayemenem , Ammuslowly got drawn to Velutha , the bare –bodiedParavan. Ammu’s quest for emotional supportends in Velutha, a low caste or untouchablecarpenter, whose family has been serving inAmmu’s house since a long time. It was hisdesire to ‘relive’ as a touchable that triggeredthe tragedy. Ammu, another ‘untouchable’within the ‘touchable’, cannot perceivehappiness. Ammu, the biggest victim of thesystem, is an archetypal image of marginalizedsociety. Pappachi insisted that a collegeeducation was unnecessary expense for a girl.Roy throws light on the fact that, “There waslittle for a young girl to do in Ayemenem otherthan to wait for marriage proposal” (p.38).Ammu had no choice other than acceptingwhatsoever her family offers her.Unfortunately her husband turns out to be adrunken man. The marriage ends in divorce.She has only marginal existence in the familystructure. It is also visible at Sophie Molsfuneral, “Ammu, Estha and Rahel wereallowed to attend the funeral, and they weremade to stand separately, not with the rest ofthe family. Nobody would look at them.”(p.12).In his profession, he was unbeatable and evenin his ‘affairs’ with Ammu he was unique inhis own way. For Ammu and Velutha, Casteor Status do not matter. What matters most isto preserve the bond of pure love. Veluthaglanced up and caught Ammu’s gaze,“Centuries telescoped into one evanescentmoment. In that brief moment Velutha lookedup and saw things that he hadn’t seenbefore…for the first time he realized thatRahel’s mother is a woman” (p.56). Roy needsto be congratulated for exposing this foul playof post-colonial India to the entire world.When Velutha has an affair withAmmu, he breaks an ancient taboo. He breaksthe rigid social rules of the caste system. Theyturn deep lovers of each others, throwing awayall scruples of caste, creed and community.Through an untouchable and a communist,Velutha’s presence gives Ammu enoughemotional and physical satisfaction andprotection. Roy passionately describes theirlove scene as, “Her brownness against hisdarkness, her softness against his hardness”(p.68).His love for Ammu and his loyalty toAyemenem House are suspected as a betrayal.The police know that Velutha is innocent yethe is arrested on Baby Kochamma’s FIR. Forsince the day Baby Kochamma was publicallyhumiliated by some of them archers in Cochin,she had focused all her fury on Velutha. In hermind Velutha had grown to represent themarch. Inspector Mathew tells her, “ youpeople …first…spoil these people, carry themabout on your head like trophies , then whenthey misbehave you come running to us forhelp” (p.261).She succeeds in convincingInspector that Velutha’s attempted rape ofAmmu, the children’s disappearance from thehouse and Sophie Mol’s death could not beunconnected. The high caste power isadministered through the police. Velutha istortured to death in police custody, and thehigh caste psyche gets a respite from low castenuisance when, “His skull was fractured inthree places- his nose and both his cheekbones were smashed, leaving his face pulpy,undefined”(p.310).366 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1
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