LITR / CRCL 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Student Text-Dialogue Presentation, 2003

Reader: Lisa James
Respondent: Krisann Muskievicz
Recorder: Natalie Martinez
June 12, 2003

Dialogue between A Passage to India and The God of Small Things:
Effect of Colonization on Gender Roles

The topic that stands out most for me between A Passage to India and
The God of Small Things is role of women in both of the novels. There 
are two quotes I want to present. The first is from a student in a previous
class, Suganthi Senapati:

“The twentieth century is an age of complete freedom when even 
women have liberated themselves from their domestic and matrimonial 
fetters and asserted their freedom from men, and proclaimed equality, 
liberty, and fraternity on par with men.” 

The second quote is from Arundhati’s Roy’s mother, Mary Roy, 
who was an activist for women’s rights in Kerala:

“One absolute certainty in India is that women are born to get married. 
And marriage means getting a dowry. And getting a dowry means 
staying with your parents. And staying with your parents is to get social 
acceptance. Or else your daughter will not get the bridegroom. This is 
the biggest hurdle that women face in India today. What we need is 
mental and financial independence for women so that they can exist 
as Indian citizens with equal rights with men.”

While these quotes seem to contradict each other, it does give 
some insight into how context plays a large role in defining the role 
of women.

 

Readings from A Passage to India

In A Passage to India, we see Indian women as being secluded or 
in “Purdah.” Western women are depicted as being flighty, indecisive, 
and dependent. This depiction of women does not come as any 
surprise considering the time it was written.

In the novel, there are many examples of how women are treated 
differently in comparison to men. One example is when Nawab 
Bahadur describes the Maharani of Mudkul on page 93: “Indeed, 
how could she be otherwise? What opportunity of education has 
such a lady had?” Thus, education for women is seen as something 
that is needed.

Another example, is although Miss Quested is the supposed 
victim of rape it is Mr. Heaslop that seems to be the real victim: 
“Miss Quested was only a victim, but young Heaslop was a martyr…”
In a way, it was as if the assault was physically against Miss Quested 
but Heaslop was the one who was “really” affected. 

A final example is when Aziz seems to acknowledge the constraining 
affect of the Purdah when he says on page 293, “The Purdah must go…
otherwise we shall never be free.” However, when he says this, he does 
not mean women should be free for their own sake but in order to drive 
the English out of India. So female equality was supposed to be just 
another way to fight colonialism. 

Readings from The God of Small Things

In this novel, women seem to have many of the same opportunities as 
men and are out of “Purdah.” They can go about as they please and 
are allowed to have an education even it means traveling outside of 
Kerala. They are allowed to work. Mammachi owns a pickle factory. 
However we see that that inequality still exists in the social context.

On page 7, we see a policeman harassing Ammu. He calls her a 
veshya, which means prostitute in Malayalam, and taps her chest. 
The narrator tells us “Inspector Thomas Mathew seemed to know 
whom he could pick on and whom he couldn’t. Police have that instinct.”

Later we see, as in the quote from Mary Roy, that a women’s reputation 
in society is important. On page 26, “Reverend Ipe realized his daughter 
had a ‘reputation’ and was unlikely to find a husband.”

Even as a child, Rahel is not allowed to get away with mischief 
that if done by boys would be shrugged off. The teachers, on page 
17, say it is “as though she didn’t know how to be a girl.” 

Question 

So while situation for women seem to have improved from the time of 
A Passage to India to the time of The God of Small Things, inequality 
seems to have taken a subtler role. Do you think colonialism improved 
the lives of women in India? Or do you think it had an effect on gender 
roles at all? Did it transform gender roles in any way?

 

Class Discussion

Krisann: Rahel could be seen as positive or negative or just curious 
but rather corrupt. What would have happened if she had been a boy? 
The boy doesn't speak at all.



 

Robert: Two societies are from England. Chacko marries a woman 
from England who is outside the community.

Lisa: Yes, it’s funny how Chacko is accepted though he marries 
outside the community but Ammu is not. The grandmother favors 
Chacko and Sophiemol, his daughter. Later Ammu marries outside 
the community and it isn’t approved.

Dr. White: Your original framing of the question is interesting. Their 
identity is defined socially. The context can change but treatment 
is the same.

Lisa: Women are given freedom in certain things like education 
but only within the social context.  My parents are from Kerala so I 
kind of understand. 

Charlie: In Passage to India, when Aziz talks about children he 
only speaks of boys. He never mentions his daughter.

Dr. White: Women will often appear powerless in traditional societies 
but in closer inspection in the context of the household they do have 
some power. 

Robert: There is also the sexual politics.

Dr. White: Right. Chacko is a philanderer; he is pretty loose yet 
nothing is lost for him.

Krisann: Women are deprived, there is a double-standard.

Lisa: There’s an old proverb in Kerala used to describe relations 
between men and women: “Whether a leaf falls on a thorn or a thorn 
falls on a leaf, it the leaf that gets hurt”

Cynthia: Since your parents are from India, what are the major 
differences you see there? Do they treat you differently?

Lisa: They make many assumptions about me. They do ask you anything. 
I don't think I really fit in there or here. I feel that I am an example of 
hybridization but it's not too bad.

Dr. White: This book was written in English. The question then becomes 
which language are postcolonial writers supposed to write in? A lot of 
these writers are in English. Their audience is cosmopolitan. Thank you 
for your insight Lisa.