Cultural Perspective of Kamala Markandaya's Selected Novels

Abstract

Literature is a reflection of society. In other words, it reflects the culture of that society. The History of Literature is the history of society and also of that era. Reading Literature one goes through the culture of the past. When we read about our own culture we are more absorbed by our literature. The growth and development of Indian Literature in English are proof of this. Reading English Literature has motivated our educated men and women to use English as a tool to spread our culture and our heritage not only among the westerners but also to bring an awakening among our educated elite... Many writers like Tagore, Rajaram Mohan Roy, Bakim Chandra Chatterjee, Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao and Gandhi came forward to share their thoughts through writings. Of these, novel writing became popular. The women writers who came after these writers began to write on the sensibility of Indian women. Kamala Markandaya is one of the early novelists. Though she lives abroad, she enables herself to portray the strength and weaknesses of Indian women characters and most of her women are protagonists in her novels Two such characters have been taken for analysis to prove that women with fixed roots in our culture could be successful but not the other who has aped the foreign culture.