Journal of Interdisciplinary Cycle Research ISSN NO: 0022-1945
Conflict between Love Marriage and Arranged Marriage in Vikram Seth’s “A Suitable Boy”
J. Ambika PhD Research Scholar and Guest Lecturer, Department of English, NKR. Govt. Arts College (W),Namakkal.
Dr. J. Dharageswari, Research Supervisor and Assistant Professor of English, Department of English, Kandasamy Kandar’s College, P. Velur.
Abstract
Marriage and family are view as stable elements of social life. The nature of this
foundation has changed gradually with time and circumstances. The eastern and the western
societies have a intricate marriage and family setup of its own. In human history, the tradition
of marriage has been strongly springs to society which always aims at society and order. The
status of woman is still low and a great emphasis is laid on marriage. The organization of
marriage is oppressive economic arrangement which makes women to regard themselves
subordinate to men. The novel present entirely different social setting but women are faced
with the same troubles. A Suitable Boy addresses the issue of marriage. Lata, the protagonist
and her sister come across with the same situation. Indian society of post-colonial time is
very much oppressive for females. In both societies the patriarchal ideology is in full working
that restricts female freedom. This oppressive ideology does not let them to decide about their
future course on their own. Theme of the novels has focused on the strained relationships and
the loss of faith in the human life. The domestic life which is the nucleus of the Indian
political and social life had shrunk both structurally and functionally and it is losing its
primary characteristics. Seth has portrayed the picture of the 21st century modern Indian
society and its effect on the life of the individual. The novel brings the serious attention of the
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society and mutual understanding in life.
Key words: family, marriage, society, culture, love, matrimonial, relationship.
INTRODUCTION
Marriage and family are viewed as stable elements of social life. The nature of this
institution has changed steadily with time and circumstances. The eastern and the western
societies have a intricate marriage and family setup of its own. In human history, the
institution of marriage has been strongly bound to society which always aims at association
and order. In A Suitable Boy, the women are face with the same situation. The position of
woman is still low and a great emphasis is laid on marriage. The tradition of marriage is
oppressive economic arrangement which makes women to regard themselves subordinate to
men. This Novel present entirely different social setting but women are faced with the same
plight.
A Suitable Boy addresses the topic of marriage. Lata, the protagonist and her sister come
across with the same situation. Lata’s mother, Mrs. Mehra’s chief concern is to find a suitable
boy for her daughter. The major theme of A Suitable Boy is Mrs. Mehra’s search for a
suitable match for her daughter. Lata seems to be totally indifferent with this chief distress of
her mother. She regards her mother a bit obsession because she is passionate about Lata’s
marriage. Therefore, Indian society of post-colonial era is very much domineering for
females. In both societies the patriarchal ideology is in full workings that restrict female
freedom. This tyrannical ideology does not let them to decide about their future course on
their own. In patriarchal societies, female power is closely related to courtship. Regarding the
issue of marriage Duplessis (1985) comments that as a gendered subject in the nineteenth
century, the heroine has barely any realistic options in work or vocation, so her heroism lies in
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self-mastery, necessary herself as a free agent, freely choosing the romance that nonetheless,
in one type or another, is her fate.
In A Suitable Boy, Mrs. Rupa Mehra initiates the search. She performs the role of a
traditional match maker, which is nowadays being gradually more played by matrimonial
columns of national newspapers among the English educated Indian upper middle class
people. In The Golden Gate, Janet sends the advertisement on John’s behalf. In her draft, a
question is used as an invitation to begin a conversation between potential partners. It
suggests direct contact between two individuals. There is also a eagerness to mention negative
personal attributes, which is totally avoided not seen in the Indian matrimonial
advertisements. In Indian advertisements, the positive personal attributes are exaggerated and
this exaggeration is so common to the Indian consciousness that in the long run, it loses its
importance. It is an Indian way of life taken for granted by all and by all means.
THE ROLE FAMILY TOWARDS INDIVIDUAL LIFE
Family is very important role in the life of individuals but sometimes it can deeply
overpowering and full of human errors: possessiveness, unkindness, hard heartedness, the list
is endless. Vikram Seth seems to be suspicious about romanticism and is surprisingly blind as
far as his idea of family is evaluated in this novel. The result is that he is sentimental and
represents a less than truthful relation of the complexities of human society, i.e. family.
The novel opens with a wedding ceremony which brings the said four families together
and the novelist places his main characters straights away on his canvas. Mrs. Rupa Mehra’s
elder daughter Savita is getting married to Pran, a university lecturer in English and the son of
the State Revenue Minister Mahesh Kapoor. Among the invitees are the anglicized Chatterjee
residing at Calcutta, and the Khan family of the Nawab of Baitor, one of the largest land
owners of the state. However his twin sons, Firoz and Imtaz are a lawyer and doctor
respectively. But they do not fit into the popular mould of the idle sons of the feudal
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aristocracy. Apart from the Khans, the other three families – the Mehras the Kapoors and the
Chatarjees are interlocked through marriage. In addition to the various characters emerging
out of the relationship amongst these three families, Seth introduces a large number of other
Characters drawn from across religions, languages, class and caste.
In A Suitable Boy, Mrs. Rupa Mehra informing her younger daughter, Lata, as she too will
marry a boy of her choice, likes her elder sister Savita. Lata’s reaction to this maternal
significant is typical of any other young Indian girl’s reactions because we find only
indifference on her part and no reaction. She has no attraction towards arranged marriages, but
she knows very well that she must have to accept it because she can’t hurt her family
members, especially her mother. Generally, Indian women, before marriage are brought up in
such a protective and comfortable atmosphere that it requires enormous courage and strength
of mind to break away from the strong family bond. And if one breaks free, it is almost
impossible to get back into the family. Even today it is true. Whereas in the 1950s the period
when Seth’s story in enact, it was almost fantastic.
Mrs. Rupa Mehra’s character is really a remarkable as well as memorable one, she is vividly
drawn and her description and dialogues are filled with energy, liveliness and wit. She is a
representative of Indian mother who is eager to see her children settled well in life as early as
possible. Though the mother-daughter relationship seems to be lively with a positive tone, the
feeling of discontent at the limitations of an economic and social world is found in it. The
Indian women sketch by the novelist is totally insecure in the economic and social world as
they are fully reliant on either father or husband. Life of women becomes more critical when
one proves unsuccessful in her hunt. Hence, their aptitude and individuality fatal defects in a
woman as her values are always being assessed in the marriage advertise.
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The first statement of the novel “you too will marry a boy I choose” foretells all the events
which Lata, the female protagonist is made to experience throughout. Secondly, Mrs. Rupa
Mehra, referring to the newlywed couple Savita and Pran, states with confidence that “they
will be happy,” which in the course of time becomes a fact. Vikram Seth portrays Pran and
Savita as an ideal couple, throughout the novel. Their love and affection blossom after the
marriage and they overcome the entire hurdle in their life with their mutual understanding and
faith towards each other. Seth makes Lata review her actions regarding her matrimonial
circumstances from the ideal level of Savita and Pran Kapoor’s domestic life- “a gradual,
stable attraction such as Savita's for Pran was this not the best thing for her, and for the
family, and for any children that she might have?”
The Third statement is too deals with Lata. Mrs. Rupa, in a moment annoyance and
exasperation thinks “her younger daughter was going to prove more difficult than her elder.”
while making her statement she doesn’t know how true it is going to be. She doesn’t have any
difficulties with Savita but the problems with Lata are going to be forever in her lifetime. The
fourth and final statement by Mrs. Rupa is also for Lata- “what is good enough for your sister
is good enough for you.” But Lata soon reacts by saying “we can’t both marry Pran.” One can
sense the novelist moral thought behind the witty reaction of Lata. If the beautiful and
intelligent Savita is satisfied with the “lanky, dark, gangly and asthmatic” Pran Kapoor and
their arranged marriage, then probably for Lata, that is the ideal state of being, to stay happy
and self-reliant.
There is always a difference between the individual desires and the situation imposed by
the larger community. It is seen in Lata’s conflict over the choice of husband and her final
decision. However, the public and private, male and female are divided into differed and
difficult to perceive.The gross exception to this theory is that a significant part of the novel is
given to Dipankar’s religious quest. Seth offers a different viewpoint on tradition and the
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significance of religion in the classified subject, but he does so in the context of the institution
of the family. His look for family is a social unit in The Golden Gate. In the novel, A Suitable
Boy the same social unit called family acquire even more significance as there is more
tradition-bound cultural and social background in the novel.
HINDU-MUSLIM COMMUNAL VIOLENCE
Vikram Seth portrays three sets of Hindu-Muslim erotic relationships against a conditions
of Hindu-Muslim communal violence which is always present under exterior with a
aggressive value. Lata and Kabir’s relationship gives a impetus to the plot of the novel.
Though the author continue the suspense about the result of their relationship and love, right
from the beginning everything seems to be against them. Maan’s passionate love for Saeeda
Bai, the courtesan, cannot stand long result in matrimony because such as alliance lacks an
acceptable ancestral anchor. On the other hand his semi-erotic friendship with Firoz leads to a
drunken attempt at murder. Their ties of friendship are reflected in their fathers’ tie of
friendship. In the novel there are male friendships and associations across religions as
mentioned. Even those across caste class such as the one between Haresh and Jagat Ram are
also described. Such relationships grow in the novel which do not given a threat to family
structure.
The part of the novel which deals with Lata’s option for the husband is also an interesting
one. Her decision making is not an easy or effortless one. Lata chooses Malati, her close
friend to communicate her concluding decision. There are some important points and shifts of
perspective in the development of the plot. Seth presents Savita’s marriage with Pran in the
novel begins. Lata watches the ceremony "with an attentive mixture of fascination and
dismay” and tries to imagine her sister's thoughts. Accepting and gentle as her sister is, she
also has views of her own. The main question in Lata’s mind is how Savita could have agreed
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to marry an unknown person whom she had met for only an hour, and feels for him the special
concern and tenderness that shows on her face.
More revolting thought gather in Lata’s mind as the married night comes bearer. It takes
Pran and Savita’s return from honey moon deeply in love with each other and Savita’s
eventual pregnancy after a few months of marriages for Lata to reconcile with the arranged
marriage of her sister. Lata’s reply to arranged marriage reflects the choice of a protagonist
based on romance and love in marriage. At the same wedding, as Lata is told by her mother,
Maan too is told his father that he too will marry the girl chosen by his parents.
Lata’s marriage with Haresh is an arranged one. She chooses to marry him rather than
agree to marry him as per her mother’s desire. It is clear in her writing to Haresh about her
decision even before informing her mother. The novelist takes his own time to allow Lata to
take her own decision. He deliberately arranges certain development in the complement plot
so as to see both mother and daughter undergo changes in their first impressions. Mrs. Mehra
who is initially very much happy with Haresh’s qualification and suitability, later is wearied
away as Arun disapproves Haresh and his professional placement. Lata, who faces a choice of
three men, each more or less suitable, at last chooses Haresh.
A Suitable Boy is supposed to belong to the genre of realistic novel. It indicates that along
with the realistic account of society, the individual realization of characters will be
realistically mixed with certain degree of complication. Vikram Seth is very eager about being
truthful in his account. He pays attention to social and historical truth, rather than
psychological accuracy of his characters. Seth is trying the best of both worlds: having a
heroine individual enough to make a choice. One is likely to ask whether it was a choice at all.
But the choice can be seen as the one within the limits compulsory by the expectations of the
family.
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CONCLUSION
The theme of the novels has focused on the strained relationships and the loss of faith in
the human life. The domestic life which is the center of the Indian political and social life had
shrunk both structurally and functionally and it is losing its primary characteristics. Vikram
Seth both is well aware of the activities which are affecting the social harmony of the system.
They have portrayed the picture of the 21st century modern Indian society and its effect on the
life of the individual. Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy portrays the traditional India—India of
arranged marriages, self made men, rationality and sanity, and tolerance and understanding.
The novel highlights the participation of women in the post colonial development of India.
REFERENCES
1. Seth, Vikram. A Suitable Boy. New Delhi: Penguin Books India (P) Ltd., 1993.
2. Mohanty, Seemita. A Critical Analysis of Vikram Seth’s Poetry and Fiction. New
Delhi: Atelantic Publishers and Distributors, 2007.
3. Naik, M.K. Indian English Poetry: From the Beginning upto 2000. New Delhi:
Pencraft International, 2009.
4. Prasad, G.J.V. Vikram Seth: An Anthology of Recent Criticism. Delhi: Pencraft
International, 2004.
5. Shukla, Shebhushan and Anu Shukla. Indian English Novel in the Nineties. New
Delhi: Sarup and Sons, 2002.
6. Singh, A.K. “Vikram Seth’s A Suitable boy: A Critique”, Indian Fiction of the
Nineties. R.S.Pathak (Ed.) New Delhi: Creative Books, 1997.
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