The attitude to abortion and it’s relation to the Indian society

First of all has to be said that in the Indian society the people seem to look much more on physical changes or appearances than e.g. in Europe. As it is said in the text, Maji recognizes very early that the narrator is pregnant, long before she even notices it. Accordingly, she warned her to be careful, because in a few days all midwives in the town will follow her, noticing her special way of walking and holding. This job seems to be widely spread, because also Maji’s mum and grandmother were midwives, who taught her everything they knew. By that we can conclude that most of the midwifes are not academically accomplished women, but normal wives who learnt their profession by practice and the knowledge that their ancestors bequeathed (”[...] spent several years going to holy places to pick up whatever instruction she could” P. 128, ll. 23-24).

In addition, abortion appears to be an often used way to get rid of unintentional children. Only after telling her a bit about her life, Maji offers the narrator to perform an abortion, if she wanted it. She already did it several times, some years ago, and still does know everything about it.

As we gather from the text, a pregnancy in India is not the same as here in Europe or the USA. Probably, a wife has to be married first and also after it, shouldn’t become pregnant if it’s not the right time. “[...] In some cases it is the only way to save people from dishonour and suffering“(P. 129, ll. 8-9). That indicates the attitude towards unwanted pregnancies. It seems to be like in our society, but some hundred years ago, when children were born out of wedlock and their mothers were discriminated and a disgrace for their families. Because of that, many had to marry because of a pregnancy, or were hidden somewhere far away from their homes.

What happens at Baba Fidaus’ grove with the narrator and Inder Lal?

Shortly before the planned picnic with Inder Lal the narrator is not sure anymore about having done the right decision. In fact, it was she who suggested to do a picnic near the shrine, alone. But as they arrive she changes her idea quite quickly, as the grove appears in a very idyllic way and she felt like “being received in Paradise”(P. 117, l.3). It was all silent, only the sound of birds and flowing water could be perceived, very different from her memory of the Husbands Wedding Day.

For Inder Lal it is a totally new experience, not going out with a vast crowd or people, or his numerous family members, but only with a single person. It has also some good aspects for him, because, as he says, he likes very much these outings in which it is possible to have serious conversations with only one single person and like that, to disclose the contents of one’s heart.

While eating, he unpacks two red strings, which serve to express wishes. As the are on their own he adds, that in this situation the wishes can be said aloud. So both of them try to guess the other ones wish and the narrator succeeds, knowing that Inder Lal’s wish has got something to do with his office. At that moment he understands that he should have wished something different, as she knows him very well.

After her discovery he seems to be a little confused, whereas the narrator’s only wish is to disclose the contents of her heart. He senses that she longs for his closeness and in that moment his lips begin to tremble. The next few moments and decisions are all up to her, he shows her his devotion, but still she can decide about letting things happen or not.

Later we get to know about her pregnancy.

I think that all the events happening there, lay in the narrator’s hands. She was the one to invite Inder Lal for the picnic, something she needn’t have done. Furthermore, she begins to talk to him of personal things, which causes some kind of intimate situation. Both of them maybe feel also lonely. The narrator because she’s alone in India, and Chid, who more or less used her, left for pilgrimage. Inder Lal’s wife instead has some mentally problems and id on pilgrimage, too. Both of them were left and as they like each other very much fall in love.

Source and copyright of the picture: Travelingtiger

Paralells between “Heat and Dust” and “A Passage to India”

Between our book and the film, I think can be seen many parallels, but also differences.

First of all has to be said that both of them play at the beginning of the 1920s in India. Like Olivia, also Mrs. Quested and Mrs. Moore travel to India to get to know better the country, without knowing nothing at all about it. In fact, both arrivals are bound to several difficulties.

In the film, the British live in a kind of ghetto, separated from the Indians and not wanting them in their clubs. In comparison to that, the British in the book live also somehow separate, but in the same town as the Indians. The English mostly maintain their way of life or, for example, take with them their English furnishing. Many of them e.g. Mrs. Saunders treat the “normal” Indians bad and take them as servants. But in difference to “A Passage to India” there are also some royal Indians, the Nawab and his mother. These ones are esteemed very highly. All the English women try to get friends with the Begum and to appeal to her play little roles during the meetings. Such relationships don’t exist in the film. The only one who sees the Indian from an other point of view is Richard Fielding.

The further action differentiates only a bit, but the outcome is totally different. Mrs. Quested expresses the wish to get to knew better the landscape, so a trip to the holes nearby the town is planned. At the same time, in the book, both Olivia and the narrator go to visit the shrine. There nothing happens, in the holes, however, Mrs. Quested gets panicked and has an accident saying later that Dr. Aziz has followed her.

In Heat and Dust no one really gets in trouble like that, the gap between Indians and British isn’t that big.

The only parallel between those visits is maybe, that Dr. Aziz and also the Nawab or Inder Lal arrange the visit very extensively to awake the interest of Mrs. Quested, Olivia, or the narrator.

In the end, Adela returns to England, Richard marries the daughter of Mrs. Moore and also Dr. Aziz has two children. That stands in an absolute contradiction with Heat and Dust. There Olivia escapes with the Nawab and lives in a house in the mountains in India, where the climate is much more comfortable that in town. Also the narrator, who is getting a child from an Indian goes there, to bear her child.

Karim’s and Kitty’s relationship with India

Karim and Kitty are two Indian royals, to be precise, Karim is the Nawab’s nephew and heir. As the furnishing shows, they seem to have a close relationship to India( P. 93, ll. 1-3 (” [..] floor which was strewn with cushions, bolsters and rugs. Evrything was Indian, including most of the people there”, “sarod music..”)). Further more both of them want to make a contract with to friends, concerning the work with Indian materials.

As the narrator mentionns first Karim’s uncle, he sais him to have been a naughty boy like many others at that time (P. 93 ll. 30-32). All of the guests, including Karim and Kitty, would like to live in India, but feel disturbed by the current governement which makes it impossible to live there.
Like another woman in the room, Karim has ged rid of most of he treasures und the palace at Khatm, because e.g. it is impossible to change anything on the state of it, like making a hotel from it. The only things he kept are some familiar things, without a material value. Karim explains the narrator about the scandalous life the Nawab lived and how he handled with money. As an example he told her about a British woman (Olivia).
On another drawing is depicted Amanullah Kahn, shown at the end of his life, when already confirmed in his conquests, and not when he still “lived” in the saddle. He speaks of him with the same admiration the Nawab did before.

He adds also that sometimes he wishes to return to India, as he belongs to it. But soon the want to buy an apartement and serve the country with their in- and export.

Victorian Women

As “Vicotorian women” can be seen the women between roughly the years 1850 to 1900, during the time India was a British colony and queen Victoria also the Empress. In this years it’s the first time they begin to fight for their rights, especially the right to vote. Social and polotical unions are formed and they claim for more same rights. For example, the Matrimonial Causes Act was introduced(1857), which allows the women to keep the money they earn during their marriage. Finally they reached also the right to vote, wich was first enabled in 1918 (by the way, in Germany it was introducend in 1919) with the differnce that their allowance began at the age of 30, instead of the men who could vote from 21 years on. This was equalized 10 years later.

Within the marriage it was the woman’s part to bear children, and also her only task. During her life she was or had to be pregnant more or less 8 times, but considering that some children died very early, only 4-5 grew up. If a woman became pregnant before marriage she had to marry the “producer” immediately, or was sent away form her family to bear the child secretly. Because of the fear of losing work many abortions took place.
Further more a woman’s place was at home, as I already said to care for their motherhood but also for domestics, which were regarded as enough to fulfill a females life.

Surely also the education of the women wasn’t very good. Most of them only visited Primary and Secondary school, only a very little part of them had the possibility to go to a University. In fact, the part of female students was very little.

Worth mentionning: ElizaElizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917)
The first woman to qualify as a doctor in Britain. She founded a hospital for poor women and children in London.

Concerning the clothes is remarkable that those for men became slightly more comfortable and had and easier fit. In contrary the woman wore bound by the growth of rigid conventions stipulating the ‘correct’ dress for each occasion. An enormous variety of styles was worn by women during this half-century, many of them remarkably ugly. The invention of the sewing machine seems to have encouraged over-elaborate decoration, and the introduction of aniline dyes produced some garish colours.

As skirts were drawn back in the late 1860s, the hair was also drawn up and back to reveal the ears, which before had been covered, but kept flat on top, with curls on the head. With the first bustles in the early 1870s the hair was lifted higher, falling onto the shoulders in curls or occasionally worn in a chignon. During this period enormous amounts of false hair were used by the very fashionable Catholic countries. Hair might fetch a good price, and peasant girls in Germany, Italy and France cut their hair as a source of income; even middle-class girls in England or America, in need of cash, might sell their hair.

Interesting sources:

1. http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/socialhistov.html
2. http://www.st-marys.hull.sch.uk/sites/history/Victorianlife.htm