DIFFICULT DAUGHTERS

Psychological views of DIFFICULT DAUGHTERS.

Manju Kapur wrote this novel to highlight the pathetic plight of modern women. It deals with the changes in the customs of generation gap, search for identity and the conflict between traditional life and westernization. Analyzing the novel in a psychological aspect, the protagonist of the novel Virmati is taken into account, as the story line revolves round her. The plot opens with the funeral ceremony of Virmati which is attended by her daughter Ida. With a peculiar statement “I do not want to be like my mother.”

Ida starts searching for her own ancestral root and thus she moves to her mother’s home town, enquiring Virmati’s brothers and sisters about her childhood days. Ida comes to know that Virmati belongs to a traditional Punjabi family that led a typical village life. She is the eldest of the eleven children of Kasturi. Due to successive pregnancies, Kasturi was not able to take care of all the children. Hence, the motherly responsibility came over the eldest daughter Virmati and she had to take care of all the younger siblings. When Virmati looked pitifully at her mother Kasturi embracing the new borns, Kasturi asks Virmati to take care of the children and asked her to guide the younger ones to eat and to take bath.

Thus Virmati never cherished the love and care of her mother and she longed for the familial love. Virmati had the desire to continue her studies, but due to the illness of her mother, her father did not allow her to persuade her higher education, although he was affectionate. Virmati had to do all the duties of her mother, but still there was no way to fulfill her passion. Her affectionate father also did not allow her to take her own decisions regarding her future studies. So, she was inspired by her cousin Shakuntala as she was leading a carefree life according to her own notions. In the mean time, Virmati felt inferior to Shakuntala, as she was westernized and working in a college. As a rebellious woman Shakuntala had her own freedom to get married or not-these factors developed an inferiority complex within Virmati.

Her longing for familial love and care and also a strong desire to persuade her studies led her to take a wrong decision in falling in love with a married English professor Harish, who worked in Oxford. He had a daughter and a caring wife, but now he is living with his mother and sister. At present, he is working in the college where Virmati is admitted. Harish is attracted by Virmati for her beauty and the keen eyes that show her eagerness for education. She is the only female student and the sharing of books brought a bond between Harish and Virmati. As a traditional family, Virmati’s mother planned to get her married, but she was not interested in marriage.

As she was in love with another man, she decided to commit suicide, which became a great blame and brought a bad name for kasturi’s family. So Kasturi punished her by locking her in a gallery, where the family stored the necessities. It had a great impact on Virmati’s psyche, that already she was lacking the necessary love and guidance from her family side. This leads her further to indulge in continuing the misdeed of transacting letters to Harish, with the help of her sister. She needed someone to chat with her and to express her thoughts, but her mother did not understand her feelings. If they had talked to her and understood her inner feelings, she might have come out of the pit that she was trapped in. In due course of time, she comes to know that Harish’s wife had delivered a second child. This makes her to think wisely and she then decided to leave Harish and forget the memories. So she plans to educate herself in the college, where her cousin Shakuntala was working.

But Harish was not willing to leave her and he continued to follow her, to fulfill his own self-desires. He even made her conceive once with the help of a friend, she then aborted it with the help of her roommate Swarnalata. She could not even roam freely in the society and due to such frustrations, Virmati decided to be a second wife of Harish, not even analyzing the tyrannies of being a second wife. There only she came to know the real face of Harish. Even a normal woman has certain dreams about her married life and some expectations from the side of her husband’s family. In the case of Virmati, she would have more expectations, as she missed the love expected in her childhood days. But it is totally upside down in her new family, Harish’s first wife not even allowed her to enter the kitchen to cook for Harish, did not allow her to wash his clothes and even allow to polish his shoes.

            Due to these oppressions, she uttered the words “And- what? As your wife, am I to do nothing for you? Just be in your bed?”(p.no.217).As a newly wedded woman, all her dreams and expectations were shattered. Her days became long and empty. Virmati comes to understand the real nature of Harish both before and during love. Her situation becomes frustrating worse, as she felt marginalized. When she went to attend her father’s funeral, her mother did not even wanted to look at the face of Virmati. The thought of being unwanted at all levels has been like a psychological shock for her. This emotional deprivation led to cause quietness, loss of interest in life and psychosomatic illness in her.

The nature of Virmati at the beginning of the novel is presented as simple and innocent. It is even said that she could not understand the subtle designs underlying the professor’s looks and talks. As there is no one to teach her about the good touch and bad touch, which should be given as an awareness to the children from the side of the parents. Thus the psychology of a person depends upon the bringing up and the childhood background.

Submitted By,

J. Mery Joylin Treasa,

1^st M.A English Literature.