1970: The Narrator’s Story 8. March

 (c)

Olivia doesn’t tell Douglas about her day with the Nawab. After the picnic she comes home later than usual and she and Douglas only talk about his job (p.49,117ff.).

In my opinion the day with the Nawab gnaws at her conscience and therefore she doesn’t tell her husband anything about it. But the picnic could not be the only reason for her remorse because a picnic is not anything forbidden or wrong. I think she is developing stronger emotions for the Nawab than she wants to believe, which could cause her guilty conscience.

 

p.127-p.143

                                                (c)

Describe the narrator’s feelings about being pregnant:

 

The narrator’s feelings about the pregnancy are kind of exceptional. When Maji tells her that she is pregnant the narrator at first doesn’t believe her (p.127), afterwards she completely forgets her own situation and is only interested in Maji’s life. The narrator doesn’t seem to realize, that she is pregnant, moreover her behaviour gives the impression that her situation isn’t special or interesting for her. The effect that she doesn’t really care about her baby shows her behaviour and reaction towards Maji, when she offers the narrator an abortion. At first, the narrator forgets completely her own situation, when Maji tells her stories about her life and different ways of abortions and afterwards when Maji is offering the narrator an abortion, the narrator is still fascinated. For the narrator other lifes seem to be more important than her own.

Her behaviour on her way home finally shows that she declines an abortion and that she is kind of happy about being pregnant (129). ’I did think about it. Then my sensations were mainly of amusement and interest, so that I went skipping in and out of puddles, laughing to myself when trod in them and got splashed.’

When the narrator further thinks about the pregnancy (p.130) she also beliefs that the baby is a part of Inder Lal, too. But she fears to spoil anything in their realtionship, so that as a result she doesn’t tell him.

 

 

The Exposition

                      

Exposition of the novel “Heat and Dust”, written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala conveys to the reader a lot of background information about the characters and the setting of the novel. These pieces of information are presented by the narrator of the story, whose name the reader doesn’t learn. The exposition is written in the past tense, because the two stories narrated in the book, happen in the past. The first story is untitled and the other is titled with the year 1923.

Some Information the reader learns about the novel in the exposition:

Olivia: She was the first wife of Douglas, the narrator’s grandfather. They lived in Satipur. In 1923 she eloped with the Nawab. She wrote detailed letters to her sister Marcia.

Douglas: He worked very hard, he lived with Olivia in India. After he divorced Olivia, he married Tessie, Beth` sister, they all had a full and happy life in India. He died when the narrator was three years old.

Tessie and Beth: Tessie is the narrator’s grandmother, and Beth’s sister. Tessie and Beth were cheerful women with a sensible and modern outlook of life. But for years they didn’t want to talk about Olivia (it was a forbidden topic) until they were old and widowed they began to talk about her. Harry gave them Olivia’s letters, after Dougla’s and Marcia’s death.

The Narrator: She is the granddaughter of Douglas and Tessie. She took Olivia’s letters and brought them with her to India, to follow Olivia’s story and to record her impressions.

The Nawab: The Indian Prince, who had eloped with Olivia.