- parents choose patners
- bride and groom are forced to marry
- early decision, early wedding (e.g. Gandhi with 13)
- bride has to move in with her husband(‘s family)
ð suffering, mother-in-law rules
- often to be found in societies without equal rights for the sexes
- factors in the decision: – colour of the skin
- age
- appearance
- no meetings before the wedding
- financial situation
- family’s reputation, cast and social status
- often unhappiness follows
- there is a dowry involved
Traditional India:
- Ritu’s treatment
- Rule of mother
- Arranged marriage
- Interested in Hindu religion (believes in reincarnation)
Progress/Western influence:
- strong interest in science
- Rejection of hijras
- Superstitious
Major Minnies
- prevent disorder in Satipur on HWD -> duty: keep order
-> worried/ fear: afraid of losing control
Nawab (Muslim)
- tolerates the Muslim-Hindu riots in Khatm on HWD -> ruler without power
-> shows the British their limits
-> refuses to follow advises
-> has religious motivation
-> takes offence at Hindu worshippers taking over
his ancestor’s shrine
Narrator
- critical of festival
- does not take it serious
- does not see the sense
- it is not what she expected
- feels part of it; feels absorved
critisises:
- overcrowded
- noisy
- fair/pleasant cutring
- not religious anymore /lacks devoutness
- is accepted to be a art of the town => is different
- is not affected by the weather => ignorance
- meditates for hours => deep faith
- is chanting all the time => does not show consideration for the narrator and also Ritu
- does not wash himself => makes his own rituals
- does not take warnings serious => ignorance
- through things from the narrator without permission away => ignorance
- takes everything for granted e.g. the narrator’s room, her food, her money => no consideration or thankfulness
- is consistent concerning possession
pp. 49-61
- sattee (shrines) -> reminds at Romeo and Juliet
- the narrator, Inder Lal and his mother
- the Nawab and Douglas
- Inder Lal and his wife
=> arranged marriages
Analyse the different images of the Nawab by Olivia.
Support your results with quotations from the text (pp. 29-49) and present them on transparency.
p. 44, ll.18-19 => she is subordinated, she has to adapt to his mood
p. 44, ll. 27-32 => he is not considerate towards Olivia, she suffers, but he does not show sympathy
p. 45, ll. 13-18 => he has mood swings
p. 48, ll. 11-12 => he is selfish, seem unapproachable, egoistic, but at the same time charming
p. 45, l. 29 – p. 46, l. 2: => ironic comments on Douglas, thus others has to accept his opinion, also if it is hurtful
Read pages 24-28 verify or falsify the following statements by analysing the narrator’s behaviour. Quote from the text.
p. 25, l. 3: “odd trio” => sceptical
p. 25, l.18: is interested in their stories, but not pleased
p. 25, ll. 14-18: The English girl complains about the dirt in India and then the narraor
asks the trio why they came to India => Ironic
p. 25, l. 21: They have made so many bad experiences => Makes fun of them, why
they are still in India
p. 25, l. 18: If the narrator would not be interested, she would not write it in her diary
and would not ask the people why they are here, but these aspects have only a
meaning, because she is interested in their stories, but not in their personalities.
She makes fun of the English couple (look 2.) -> are overtaxed with life in India ->
are not able to survive much longer
p. 25, ll. 15-17: critical about the wave of Europeans who came to India to find
spirituallity, but get only disillusionment; force them back to England, because they
are not happy
On the one hand, they are different, because Olivia is a bit like the unprepared English
couple, who complains about their unhappiness. On the other hand, the narrator and
Olivia react at the graveyard both touchy as they see the Saunder’s baby grave (p. 28,
ll. 10-17).
pp. 24-28
- Bad experiences
- Huge disappointment in India
- Positive and negative aspects of India
ð The narrator just reflects the experiences of the others, but does not give her own opinion. Thus the reader has to form his own opinion.
 | elenadust zu Gandhi |
 | munchy zu Family tree of the narrat… |
 | kaidust zu Family tree of the narrat… |
| elenadust zu Notes to the other quotat… |
