In this story by Kamala Das, an Indian woman angrily scolds her husband, a lazy drunkard, as she tells a fellow beggar how a year earlier he lost a secure job and caused them to be evicted from their hut. As the aging woman complains about her lot, the listener brings her to tears. He poetically extols the benefits of living in the open beside the sea, provides encouragement that things will improve, speaks to her of music and artistry, and likens her to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Themes include marriage (loyalty, jealousy, control and complacency), poverty, negativity, dreams, generosity.
For me, the major themes of the story are negativity and marriage complacency. The couple have a negative fixation, focusing only on the bad things in their lives. It took the young beggar to open the woman’s eyes to the beauty around her and the difference that music and art can make to one’s state of mind. Additionally, either for cultural reasons or because of his wife’s bitterness, the husband no longer makes an effort to make her feel loved, valued or desired. The beggar’s comments that she is still comely and reminds him of Lakshima not only builds her self-esteem, but also gives her the courage to dream again.
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