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A review by tasmanian_bibliophile
A Married Woman by Manju Kapur
4.0
‘Astha was brought up properly, as befits a woman, with large supplements of fear.’
Astha is an obedient middle-class girl growing up in Delhi during the 1970s. Her father wants her educated; her mother wants her to be settled into a safe, arranged marriage. While Astha’s family is not wealthy, they have hopes for the future. While Astha meets some males herself, and has a little more experience that her mother realises, she eventually agrees to an arranged marriage. Hemant seems kind enough.
‘She was a bride, and her grip of Hemant’s hand grew more certain, and the blush on her face more conscious.’
Astha has two children, and a job at a primary school, and for a while seems perfectly happy. She also paints. If the physical nature of her marriage has changed, this is not initially of great concern. Both Astha and Hemant are busy.
‘Life was shaping up nicely, with her mind and heart gainfully employed.’
But then Astha becomes involved in a theatre troupe run by Aijaz, a politically active man. This leads Astha to become more politically and socially aware, and she also begins to see her painting as something more than a genteel hobby.
‘Somewhere along the way Hemant’s attitude to Astha changed.’
As a consequence of growing community unrest, Aijaz and his theatre troupe are burned alive in their van one night. Astha joins the crowds in protest. Some months later she meets Aijaz’s widow Pipee, and they are drawn together. Fondness becomes love, friendship becomes complicated.
‘Why was it, thought Astha wearily, that love always had to be balanced by its opposite?’
Astha’s story unfolds slowly throughout this novel, details of her daily life serve to add depth to her development as a woman, to her frustrations and choices. By the end of the novel, Astha is a complex and complicated character, neither free of convention nor entirely entrapped within it. By trying to put the needs of others first, by being unable to celebrate her own achievements, Astha seems unable to completely take control of her own destiny.
‘She wanted to say yes, I have done it, I have sold my first painting, I have achieved something, let us celebrate, but the number of ‘I’s’ involved ensured that the words refused to leave her mind.’
This novel has stayed with me. Ms Kapur has managed to incorporate the stresses and tensions between the ties of tradition and the possibilities afforded by a more progressive life. The choices are not oversimplified: a progressive western education does not make it easy to move beyond the traditional, nor does visiting America. Life is more than culture, geography and history. Life is full of compromises. A thought provoking novel: well worth reading.
‘A trip abroad would be nice, no matter whom one loved and whom one left behind.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Astha is an obedient middle-class girl growing up in Delhi during the 1970s. Her father wants her educated; her mother wants her to be settled into a safe, arranged marriage. While Astha’s family is not wealthy, they have hopes for the future. While Astha meets some males herself, and has a little more experience that her mother realises, she eventually agrees to an arranged marriage. Hemant seems kind enough.
‘She was a bride, and her grip of Hemant’s hand grew more certain, and the blush on her face more conscious.’
Astha has two children, and a job at a primary school, and for a while seems perfectly happy. She also paints. If the physical nature of her marriage has changed, this is not initially of great concern. Both Astha and Hemant are busy.
‘Life was shaping up nicely, with her mind and heart gainfully employed.’
But then Astha becomes involved in a theatre troupe run by Aijaz, a politically active man. This leads Astha to become more politically and socially aware, and she also begins to see her painting as something more than a genteel hobby.
‘Somewhere along the way Hemant’s attitude to Astha changed.’
As a consequence of growing community unrest, Aijaz and his theatre troupe are burned alive in their van one night. Astha joins the crowds in protest. Some months later she meets Aijaz’s widow Pipee, and they are drawn together. Fondness becomes love, friendship becomes complicated.
‘Why was it, thought Astha wearily, that love always had to be balanced by its opposite?’
Astha’s story unfolds slowly throughout this novel, details of her daily life serve to add depth to her development as a woman, to her frustrations and choices. By the end of the novel, Astha is a complex and complicated character, neither free of convention nor entirely entrapped within it. By trying to put the needs of others first, by being unable to celebrate her own achievements, Astha seems unable to completely take control of her own destiny.
‘She wanted to say yes, I have done it, I have sold my first painting, I have achieved something, let us celebrate, but the number of ‘I’s’ involved ensured that the words refused to leave her mind.’
This novel has stayed with me. Ms Kapur has managed to incorporate the stresses and tensions between the ties of tradition and the possibilities afforded by a more progressive life. The choices are not oversimplified: a progressive western education does not make it easy to move beyond the traditional, nor does visiting America. Life is more than culture, geography and history. Life is full of compromises. A thought provoking novel: well worth reading.
‘A trip abroad would be nice, no matter whom one loved and whom one left behind.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith