Dorothee heat’s Weblog

Examine the role of suttee in this section.

Suttee, also known as the Sati practice, is an old Hindi ritual in which a recent widow sacrafieses herself by ascending her husband’s funeral pyre. The practice is officially voluntary but there exist records that show how many woman had been physically forced to go through with the cruel act.

Since the suttee has been outlawed in 1829, it was the duty of British admimistrators (like Douglas) to do everyting in their power to stop those procedures. In the beheld section, Douglas has tried to avert a suttee but had arrived to late and so he could just arrest the responsable people. Everyone praised Douglas for the way he handled things in that difficult situation. This shows that the Europeans but also the Nawab despise the Hindu practice and they respect Douglas for having the energy to deal with it. The incident was of course soul-destroying for Douglas, which is why he tries to spare Olivia the stories about it. But the his wife is different from the other English women. She would like to dispute with Douglas on the subject and is interested in the ancient Hindu ways of thinking. This becomes obvious on page 59 in line 8: “But Olivia resented being spared.” To Olivia it is not just a matter to gossip about, like it is to Mrs. Crawford or Mrs. Minnie. Those women have found another argument that confirms them in their position that the Indian culture and the Hindi religion is underdeveloped and unprogressive, not adapted to the modern times. Olivia on the other hand even shows sympathy for the women who do the practice voluntarily because they don’t want to go on with their life after having lost the one they loved the most. This understanding shows that Olivia is able to identify herself with other people, even if their backrounds are completely different and strange for her. On top of that it is a sign for her increasing greenness which becomes more and more intense and exhausting for the other people.

Olivia starts to write more frequently to her sister. Write the letter she wrote to her about the picnic.

Dear Marcia,

It’s been 1 months since I wrote you a letter so I think it is about time to tell you about my latest experiences here in India. I still haven’t got used to the climate and all the living conditions. Of course Douglas is very sympathetic about that and he tries to make my life as easy and comfortable as possible but as I have already told you he is working very long and hard and so it is impossible for him to dedicate all his conerns to my well-being. Douglas would love to see me getting involved with the other English women’s activities, but frankly said, I don’t feel very much at ease with those women. But there is someone that I do feel at ease with…and that is the Nawab. He lives in a palace and is a man of high esteem. The first time I saw him was when he had invited us to a dinner party at his house. I didn’t attend this event with high expectations but it turned out to be just the thing I needed. The Nawab seemed to be interested in my life, my history and I think there was even a vibe between us. The way he looked at me was flattering and showed me his appreciation.

A couple of days after the party he came to see me at my house. Douglas was working of course and so we sat together, had drinks and enjoyed each others company. I told Douglas about my visitor and had to discover that he was not very enthusiastic about it. I have  to admit that this was probably a subconscious reason for me remaining silent after our next and also closest encounter.

It happened when the Nawab came to call on me the other day, but instead of staying at my house he insisted to take me on a small trip this time. It was tedious at first as the Nawab’s mood had turned and he acted inexplicably cold-hearted. We went to a shady grove, a nice spot, surrounded by a pleasant climate and temperature. After having arrived the Nawab became charming again and I felt once again like I was the only person that mattered to him. He told me ancient stories and legends about the place we had come to and complimented me in a likely way. He even divulged to me that I had become important to him and that he felt that he could talk to me about anything. I cannot deny that this pleased me and his whole attitute and behaviour makes me become more and more interested in his person. HIs intransperent character is just fascinating but on the other hand a bit scary.

I didn’t tell Douglas about the trip. But I feel relieved to have you to write to. It helps me clear my mind and thoughts, which I really need these days.

From now on I really want to write more frequently to you. I hope you are doing fine in France. I would love to get an answer from you soon.

Love,

Olivia

In the following text I am going to summarise an extract from the novel ‘Heat and Dust’ written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, which is about an encouter between the protagonist,also the narrator of the story, a young English woman who has come to India in order to retrace the steps of a distant relative of hers, and 3 young people who have left England for India to find peace and spiritual enrichment there.

The scene takes place outside a travellers’ bungalow, where the 3 people currently stay. One of them is identified as being from the English Midlands by the narrator, although he is dressed like an Indian ascetic and tries hard to conceal his actual origin. At first, the other two people, a man his girl, appear very open but this impression changes immediatly when talking about the Indian people, Indian way of life and their bad experiences with it, which include robbery and deception among other things. The protagonist asks the 3 people for the reasons they had when having decided to go to India and so the man tells her that he and his girlfriend got involved with the Hindu religion in England. They attented a lecture by a visiting swami and had been impressed, even overwhelmed by the power and spiritedness they were confronted with. That breath-taking atmosphere finally made them set off for India.

The ascetic explains that he had smiliar reasons for coming to India. Being pleased with his decision in the first couple of months, he found a guru who gave him initiation and taught him his way of life: divest himself of all personal possessions and start a pilgrimage across India. But then he tells the narrator that he found it impossible to live his life like that, as he suffered from the stresses and strains caused by his journey as well as the oppressive feeling that he was not taken seriously by the Indian people.

Biography

My name is Sven Langstrøm and I am 29 years old. I grew up in a small town in southern Sweden and had 3 siblings. Until I was 13 years old my life was not particularly spectacular. I went to Primary School and transfered to the local High School at the age of 12. In the afternoon I played soccer with my brothers as often as possible, that was my passion. My father supported me with my ambition to become a professional soccer player and even payed the high fees for my everyday training.

One day in March, I remember it was a rainy, stormy day, there was a knock on our door. I was alone at home and when I opened I had to discover a woman with a more than serious facial expression. She told me she was working for child services and I had 15 minutes to pack some personal belongings and then had to leave with her. When I told her that I would not be going but would be waiting for my family, she told me my family was not coming back. Of course I knew what it meant, I was petrified. My thoughts were spinning around whereas my body completely refused to move. I tried to figur out the best way to proceed and came to the conclusion that I need to take off and RUN AWAY!!! I ran for miles and miles until I reached a deserted barack, my refuge. I stayed there for a really long time, I cannot tell for how long exactly but it must have been some years. Without my family, especially without my father, I didn’t feel like an outright person.

At a certain point I discovered there was only one way for me to recover from the traumatic event..and that was to spout heroin, really take the edge off. With the drugs I also got involved with the ‘right’ people. Some of them were really messed up but one guy, Aditya, turned out to be a pretty good friend. He always told me stories about his home country India. Those stories were so passionate and energetic that he convinced me that India was the world’s best country to be free. Thus, we went so far to agree on an oath. At the age of 25 we would have saved some money and would be able to move to India.

There was one thing that was always a matter of course for me: Stick to my word. It wasn’t different this time. I did some low-paid jobs for awhile until I had enough money to fulfill my dream. Aditya and I hitch-hiked all the way to India. It took as some months and it wasn’t easy at all. One day we got in a fight and no one of us was able to admit his fault or apologize. So from that moment on we went on on our own. After having crossed a large part of the country I finally settled down in Bombay. Due to my elixir, the heroin, I quickly found some good mates in Bombay. Now I don’t have any plans for the future anymore. I like India, you can just wake up and live into the day. There are less people here who judge you by your appearance or look at you contemtuously. Sometimes I even get presents or money by strangers. The constant hunger got me dizzy at first but I think the body gets used to it. Since I didn’t finish my education I don’t think I will be able to get a decent job one day. Doesn’t this depress me? No. I’m convinced that human beings are capable of accepting any living conditions, as bad as they may be. They just have to stop struggeling against it.

Task 1 (table):

Woman in dormitory:

appearance (for Stoffel: Erscheinung): looks like a ghost, wears a white night-gown, long hair > plait

state of mind: outgoing, talkactive, helpful, disappointed and shocked about human beings (Indians AND Europeans)

background: christian > very religious, her origin is england, has been in Bombay several times, familiar with India > has seen many terrible sights, knows Miss Tietz

aims: wants to keep on living in God’s will

Narrator:

appearance: young woman, probably wearing pyjamas

state of mind: confused, influenced by letters > has prejudice against India and Indian people, imagined India different from what it really is

background: from England, arrived in Bombay by plane, granddaughter of Douglas

aims: wants to retrace the steps of Olivia

Miss Tietz

background: a Swiss woman, came to India with the Christian Sisterhoo, has been looking after the S.M. for the last 10 years, has known the woman in the dormitory for 20 years, is a good soul and a good cook