The English Teacher: Narayan’s Depiction of Own Spiritual Experience
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Abstract
Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami is one of the most distinguished Indian novelists writing in English. He brings out autobiographical element in his novel 'The English Teacher'. This novel narrates Narayan's pains and agony that he suffered after the unexpected and untimely demise of his wife, Rajam. The novel celebrates fulfilled union, psychically extended after the wife’s death and a period of desolation in between. It deals with spirituality in its own way. In the novel the spirit of Susila becomes an embodiment of divine power which brings about a total transformation in the character of Krishna. The depth of his grief and sorrow is nakedly and movingly reflected in the concluding part of the first section, through describing Krishna's response to Susila's death. The second part of the novel to the end of it describes Narayan’s own spiritual experience of holding communion with the spirit of his departed wife. Leela, though a child, exerts her influence on her father. This paper is a humble attempt to prove that an artist may take inspiration for his art from his own life, and experience. The novel portrays story of Narayan’s own marriage and the early death of his wife Rajam.
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References
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_English_Teacher>
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