The English Teacher

Chapter Summary

Chapter 1:
 The argument with Brown over ‘honour with a u’
 Krishna’s decision to have more regular habits
 He wakes up early the next morning, swims in the river and writes the
poem ‘Nature’: there is considerable rebirth and baptismal imagery
here (including images from Alchemy suggesting purity and
sublimation), although no true ‘rebirth’ seems to occur
 Krishna bemoans literature teaching in schools, where the is ‘a
desperate attempt to wrest meaning’ from poetry
 Krishna goes to a lesson unprepared – he wastes time with the
register and seems unprepared, foolish and reductionist
 He returns to his room and has received letters from his wife, Susila,
and his father telling him that it is time for him to start living with his
wife. Krishna is perturbed by this possible disturbance to his nicely
ordered life
 Flashback to his father’s ink-making and his visits to Kawadi
 He waits along time for the bathroom and constructs a poem about
God waiting an infinite time to punish someone in the hostel bathroom
 He goes house-hunting and meets the old, blind man who initially
won’t let him see the house until he says he is from a ‘cultured’ family
 Krishna finds the house, moves out of the hostel and tips the
servant Singaram

Chapter 2:
 Krishna discuss with his mother how small the house is
 Krishna’s mother is established as a traditional housewife who, in
turn, trained Susila in her wifely duties
 Krishna collects Susila and the baby, Leela, from the train station. He
irrationally panics about whether it will be possible to to get his wife,
the baby and their luggage off of the train in the seven minutes for
which the train will be stationary. On arrival, however, Susila calmly
manages to exit the train with ease.
 Krishna’s mother welcomes the child and takes much care of it over
the subsequent two months before she leaves
 The family grow closer together and we learn
about Leela’s fascination for water and Susila’s cooking
 Susila’s shopping list described in detail: she is a ‘technician’ of the
home
 Krishna’s mother sends the old woman from her village to help
in Krishna’s house
 Krishna writes a poem for Susila, which is actually a copy of
Wordsworth’s poem ‘She was a Phantom of Delight’
 Susila sells the clock, they argue but Krishna eventually concedes

Chapter 3:
 Susila and Krishna go house-hunting
 They lunch at the Bombay Anand Bhavan Hotel and Susila is
impressed by the bathroom tiles on the walls
 Susila wants to go to the river, where they bathe their feet
 Susila and Krishna meet Sastri the logician and house builder
 They find ‘The Jasmine Home’ but Susila gets locked in the toilet and
is frightened by the flies
 They pray at the temple of Srinivasa
 Susila becomes ill with suspected Malaria which turns out to be
Typhoid
 Krishna visits the doctor for medicine who appears to be inhuman,
mechanical and not much help at first. However, when he visits the
family at home he becomes more friendly, human and natural
 Susila continues to get worse and she is visited by both the exorcist
and the medical specialist
 Susila eventually dies and is cremated

Chapter 4:
 Krishna’s life is blank and empty without Susila, however he
continues to look after Leela and care for her
 Krishna’s mother leaves on the bus after telling him that he should
re-marry
 There is a flashback to Leela playing just after the cremation of her
mother. Leela questions the adults as to why Susila’s door is shut but
they do not tell her that Susila is dead
 Krishna describes the new routine of his life with Leela: washing and
then reading because the Goddess Saraswathi is the Goddess of
Learning and they must touch her with clean hands

Chapter 5:
 Krishna gets a letter from the mystic who believes he is receiving
messages from Susila
 1st visit Susila cannot communicate
 nd
2 visit Susila gets the daughter’s name wrong
 rd
3 visit Susila talks about letters and a sandalwood box
that Krishna has no recollection of
 4th visit Susila informs Krishan that Leela is going to school,
which he was unaware of
 Krishna goes to school with Leela, meets ‘The Headmaster’ and
invites him to lunch on Sunday
 5th visit Susila talks about her last day but she makes many
mistakes and doesn’t remember the toilet
 6th visit Susila talks about the after-life and
encourages Krishna to play the Veena

Chapter 6:
 Krishna and Leela go to the school on a Sunday and discover that
the ‘Headmaster’ is there every day
 The Headmaster shows Leela’s first piece of work, a green paper
boat, to Krishna
 He attacks modern education methods and demonstrates his method
of teaching through play by reading the bison and the tiger story
 The Headmaster eats at Krishna’s house and he promises Leela a
kitten
 Krishna and Leela go to the Headmaster’s house for the kitten and
meet his messy children and argumentative wife.
 The Headmaster cannot find the kitten that he offered to Leela and is
eventually describe by Krishna as a man who had ‘strayed into a wrong
world’

Chapter 7:
 The mystic has disappeared and Krishna tries to speak to Susila
without the mystic but fails
 He become angry at (Western) literature and denounces it to his
students as garbage and trash
 The mystic writes and offers the possibility of a sitting in absentia by
agreeing on a time at which to meditate
 In subsequent sittings Krishna is encouraged by Susila to develop his
own psychic abilities
 The Headmaster visits Krishna late at night telling him that his
horoscope has predicted that he will die tomorrow and asking
if Krishna will continue to run the school after his death
 Krishna agrees reluctantly and the following day goes to the
Headmaster’s house to find out if he is really dead. The Headmaster is
not there and Krishna tells his wife that he is dead which upsets her
greatly.
 The Headmaster returns home, not having died, but he has decided
to leave his wife and children, while still supporting them financially. In
a sense he has a new life, a form of rebirth and so perhaps his old self
has died
 Krishna’s mother comes to visit, bringing with her the sandalwood
box that Susila spoke about in their tird sitting with the mystic
 Krishna’s mother visits and tells Krishna that his father has set aside
money for Leela’s endowment
 Krishna’s mother stays for four weeks. Leela leaves with her
grandmother to their village
 Krishna receives a letter from his father and Leela explaining how
happy Leela is and asking him to visit, which he does
 Krishna returns from the village feeling that ‘a profound and
unmitigated loneliness is the only truth of life’. He visits the Headmaster
who seems happier and enjoys being surrounded by the playful and
lively children

Chapter 8:
 Krishna decides to resign from teaching and teach at the
Headmaster’s school. He plans to write a ‘singeing’ letter condemning
the teaching of Shakespeare which has produced ‘a nation of morons’.
Instead, he feels, children need to be taught about ‘the fullest use of
the mind’.
 He however refrains from sending this letter, which he feels sounds
too ‘theatrical and pompous’ and, besides, he believes only a ‘fool’
could be insensible to the beauties of Shakespeare
 Krishna resigns and leaving party is held for him where he receives
a Jasmine garland
 That night Susila appears to him for the first time and they talk
together until dawn

Krishna's change comes about not as a result of any grand plan or

ambition, but as a result of his response to a series of challenging
circumstances which arise once he begins to take steps away from the
cloistered and protective environment of his school.
This day-by-day, unforeseen-event by unforeseen-event progress is
reflected in Narayan's approach to the novel itself. Narayan gives the
impression that he has no pre-planned plot in mind when the story
opens, but instead focuses on a meticulously detailed depiction of
Krishna's experiences, keeping to the observable surface reality of his
perceptions, thoughts, and feelings, without digression or analysis or
interpretation. This rigorous unadorned focus on observable phenomena
results in some stunningly beautiful writing.
But although Krishna's journey takes place as a result of a series of
unpredictable events, a number of recurring themes are being worked
out in the course of the novel. These themes might be said to be
Krishna's progress from predictability to unpredictability, from the
academic world to the real world of life and death, from adulthood to
childhood, and from a western mentality to an eastern mentality.

From the academic world to the 'law of life'

While these episodes fail to provide Krishna with anything rational to
believe in, they do bring him face to face with the reality of life and
death, and confronting the realities of life without retreating into the safe
cerebral world of literature and philosophy is an important component of
his journey. His unsatisfying immersion in a sterile literary approach to
life is shown in a number of ways. For example the novel opens with him
wearily facing the fact that he is reading 'for the fiftieth time, Milton,
Carlyle and Shakespeare' [Ch 1. p. 295]. Later he tries to write a love
poem for his wife, but it is simply a copy of a poem by Wordsworth, and
later still he tries to read a book on Plato, but gives up on the very first
sentence.
Now he is discovering how ordinary people encounter the big issues of
life and death, not as seen through the perspective of literature or
philosophy, and not in a way that would imply that some profound
universal conclusions could be drawn, but as they actually experience it
in everyday life.
And Narayan himself, insofar as we can identify him with the character of
Krishna, is writing at the level of those ordinary people. He does not
adopt the position of a novelist presenting the reader with fictitious
characters which he has created, and which are under his control, as for
example Charles Dickens does, but in the guise of Krishna he places
himself firmly among the ordinary people, and breaks down the
boundaries between real life outside his novel and the life within the
novel. Just as Krishna faces life without illusions, so Narayan seems to
create his novel without the usual illusions of the novelist, such as pre-
planned plot and fictitious characters.
In an outburst with one of his students Krishna says of literature: 'Don't
worry so much about these things - they are trash, we are obliged to go
through and pretend we like them, but all the time the problem of living
and dying is crushing us.' [Ch 7. p.438]
In coming to terms with the death of his wife literature, philosophy, and
rationalism, are no use to him. They are all illusions, and the journey he
is on involves leaving illusions behind.
Living without illusions seemed to be the greatest task for me in life now
. . . humanity, nurtured in illusions from beginning to end! The twists and
turns of fate would cease to shock us if we knew, and expected nothing
more than, the barest truths and facts of life. [Ch 4. p. 387]
Narayan's writing style, which is inseparable from the observations of
Krishna, the first-person narrator, has been showing us this all along.
Right from page one Narayan has presented us with only 'the barest
truths and facts of life'.
The truth Krishna wants to discover cannot be found in Shakespeare,
Carlyle, or Plato, it is found only among real people leading real lives, it
is 'the law of life'.
The law of life can't be avoided. The law comes into operation the
moment we detach ourselves from our mother's womb. All struggle and
misery in life is due to our attempt to arrest this law or get away from it . .
. [Ch 7. p. 465]

From adulthood to childhood

Children are very much in evidence throughout 'The English Teacher',
and are important guides for Krishna on his journey. At the beginning he
is with the boys at his school, but they are no longer children but young
adults, already entangled in the system from which he needs to escape.
The children who help to show him the way are the younger children, his
own daughter, Leela, and the children at the nursery school she attends.
The young children are important because they are spontaneous and
natural. They have not yet had their natural energy stifled and diverted
by the deadening educational system, and are free from rationalism,
religion, and other systems of thought.
The most prominent character in the novel, after Krishna and his family,
is the headmaster of Leela's school. He is a champion of childhood,
having devoted his life to children since receiving the prediction that he
would die, and believes they are 'angels' [Ch 6. p. 434], 'the real gods on
earth' [Ch 6. p. 423], and employs what he calls 'The Leave Alone
System' in his school
The Leave Alone System, which will make them wholesome human
beings, and also help us, those who work along with them, to work off
the curse of adulthood. [Ch 6. p. 436]
Krishna befriends the headmaster, and although at one point he fears
that the headmaster is 'a man mentally unsound' [Ch 7. p. 449] he is
drawn towards the headmaster's views, which are reinforced by his
wife's psychic communication that children are more in tune with the
psychic side of life than adults, and at the climax of the novel he decides
to work with the headmaster in his nursery school.
In the second half of the novel Krishna's discovery of children as an
effective countermeasure against 'the curse of adulthood', and the
opening of his mind that he is experiencing through meditation, pave the
way for his resignation from his old job and the adoption of a more
genuine lifestyle.
We might also see in the headmaster's comment: 'Children have taught
me to speak plainly, without the varnish of the adult world.' [Ch 6. p. 433]
a clue as to the inspiration behind Narayan's direct, factual, unadorned
style of writing.

From west to east

Another component of Krishna's journey is that he encounters the
coexistence of western and native cultural attitudes, which also
represent the attitudes of Indians of a newer and older generation. For
example when Susila is ill she is treated both by a doctor who practises
western scientific medicine, and by a Swamiji who uses mystical
methods of healing. The Swamiji is summoned by Susila's mother,
representing an older generation than Krishna himself, who believes the
'Evil Eye' [Ch 3. p. 372] has fallen on her daughter, and it is notable that
Krishna feels 'ashamed' [Ch 3. p. 373] that the doctor finds the Swamiji
in the house, showing that he is alienated from, and embarrassed by,
the native culture of the older generation of his own country.
In the event, both the scientific and the mystical attempts at healing fail,
and Susila dies. Narayan presents us with the coexistence of these two
systems of thought in Indian culture, but does not make an issue of
being 'for' one and 'against' another because in the matters of life and
death that he wants to focus on here the distinction between western
and eastern thought pales into insignificance.
Other instances of the juxtaposition of English and native cultures arise
in the novel. For example it may be significant that the street where the
headmaster lives, with its poor sanitation, and where 'unkempt and wild-
looking children rolled about in the dust' [Ch 6. p. 431] is named
Anderson Street, and Anderson may have been 'some gentleman of the
East India Company's days!' [Ch 6. p. 431]. But while this observation is
potent, it is the observations he wishes to make on the educational
system towards the end of the novel which represent the main focus of
his attack.
The final stage of Krishna's journey takes him further from the from the
western intellectual frame of mind, inherited from the British, in which he
was embedded at the opening of the novel, and further towards native
Indian spiritual practices. To reach his goal of 'a harmonious existence'
[Ch 8. p. 467] he takes up his deceased wife's psychically-
communicated challenge, which he receives initially through a medium,
to develop his mind sufficiently to communicate with her psychically
himself, and bridge the gap between life and life-after-death. Although
initially he had been bemused by his wife's devotional practices,
mocking her with 'Oh! Becoming a yogi!' [Ch 2. p.325] he now relies on
her to guide him, from beyond the grave, in his 'self-development'.
This self-development consists of Zen-like meditation in which, for a
certain amount of time each day, he empties his mind. His main motive
for undertaking this development is to reach closer psychic
communication with his wife, but he also experiences a general
improvement in his state of mind as a result.
It was a perpetual excitement, ever promising some new riches in the
realm of experience and understanding . . . There was a real
cheerfulness growing within me, memory hurt less . . . [Ch 7. p. 457]
Compare this to the boredom and spiritual deadness he had come to
find in western literature and philosophy and we see how he has found
something truly enriching in his native culture. The simple message of
'belief' which his wife offers as the key to his progress also shows how
inadequate the western approach, with its 'classifying, labelling,
departmentalising' [Ch 8. p. 468] was for his real needs:
'Belief, belief.' Above reason, scepticism, and even immediate failures, I
clung to it. [Ch 7. p. 457]

Conclusion
In the final chapter the issues of the novel come to a head with Krishna's
resignation from his post as English teacher and his psychic reunion with
his wife. In his attack on the system he is rebelling against he criticises
not English Literature itself 'for who could be insensible to
Shakespeare's sonnets, or Ode to the West Wind' [Ch 8. p. 467] but
India's adherence to an educational system which stifles the spirit of its
students and alienates them from their native culture:
This education has reduced us to a nation of morons; we were strangers
to our own culture and camp followers of another culture, feeding on
leavings and garbage . . . What about our own roots? . . . I am up
against the system, the whole method and approach of a system of
education which makes us morons, cultural morons, but efficient clerks
for all your business and administration offices. [Ch 8. pp. 467-8]
Having thrown off this cultural inheritance from the west, and decided to
'withdraw from the adult world and adult work into the world of children'
[Ch 8. p. 472] he is free to take a further step in his traditional Indian
self-development and reach a state in which 'one's mind became clean
and bare and a mere chamber of fragrance' [Ch 8. p. 473]. He finally
learns to experience at the psychic level, and when his wife appears
before him he reaches 'a moment of rare, immutable joy - a moment for
which one feels grateful to Life and Death.' [Ch 8. p. 474]
In conclusion we might say that the quote 'What about our own roots?'
which I chose as the title for this essay could apply to Krishna's journey
on a number of levels. It could apply to all of us as adults, alienated from
our roots in childhood; to modern Indians, alienated from their native
cultural roots; and to humanity as a whole, in that we have become
rational human beings, alienated from our roots in the unknown.
Additional commentary on The English Teacher and excerpts from
comments from Indian critics by S. N. Radhika Lakshmi
At the beginning of The English Teacher we find Krishna to be a
sensitive and sincere teacher who is completely wrapped in his work of
teaching Carlyle and Milton to the students of Albert Mission College at
Malgudi. In the first half of the story Krishna is portrayed as an
affectionate and protective father to Leela as well as a doting husband to
Susila. But after his wife's death he is forced to face the harsh realities of
life and is tortured by feelings of loneliness. He leads a mechanical
existence, attending college and looking after his daughter, to whom he
is both a mother and father. Krishna was on the verge of committing
suicide after his wife's death, but he resisted the temptation because he
felt it was his responsibility to bring up his daughter.
Krishna receives a message from an old man that his dead wife is trying
to communicate with him through the old man. During their psychic
meetings, with the old man acting as a medium, Susila's spirit infuses
into the almost-suicidal Krishna the strength and courage to face the
harsh realities of life.
Susila's spirit expresses her inability to communicate with Krishna as he
is not in the right state of mind to receive her messages. First of all
Krishna should rid his mind of all trace of sorrow about her untimely
death. In course of time Krishna attains a state of mental readiness to
receive her messages without the intervention of the medium.
Krishna develops friendship with a headmaster who runs a kindergarten
school. He admits his daughter in the same school. The eccentric
headmaster is a refreshing contrast to Krishna. The headmaster doesn't
believe in spoon-feeding or excessive discipline and allows the children
to play games most of the time, teaching them lessons in between their
play. This mode of learning seems to be effective.
The headmaster is a hen-pecked husband. He does not go home for
lunch, knowing that his wife will be waiting for him, and chooses to have
his meal with Krishna instead. When he goes home the first question he
asks his children is, "Is your mother at home?" When they reply, "No" he
says, "Excellent" with great relief. His termagant wife does not allow their
children to study in his school and brings them up in a wild and barbaric
manner.
The headmaster tells Krishna that according to an astrologer's
prediction, he will die in a few days' time. His feelings about his own
death may perhaps be a psychic phenomenon, or a suicidal wish to
escape from his worries and miseries. When the death for which he
waits so calmly does not come, he cuts off all his connections with his
family and treats himself as dead and his life as a new birth. The irony
lies in the fact that although he proves to be a good teacher and a good
headmaster to his students, he is a failure in the role of a father to his
own children, for he fails miserably in bringing them up.
The headmaster exerts a distinct influence in transforming Krishna's life.
Krishna resigns his job at college as he finds it meaningless, and joins
the headmaster's school as a teacher. He finally attains peace of mind
and realises that life will have meaning for him from then onwards. He
gradually overcomes his grief over the loss of his wife and finds
happiness and fulfilment in bringing up his young daughter. He no longer
requires the presence of Susila's spirit to infuse confidence in him to
face life, though Susila's spirit remains with him forever.
Comments on The English Teacher by some Indian literary critics
According to Harish Raizada The English Teacher, as an
autobiographical novel, completes a trilogy along with his other two
novels 'Swami and Friends' and 'The Bachelor of Arts'. It depicts man as
bearing 'the sweet and bitter fruits of life.'
K R Srinivasa lyengar
[3] says that the description of Krishna's married life - the first few years of
happiness, the excruciating agony during the weeks of Susila's illness, the 'last
journey' to the cremation ground - is one of the most moving and flawless pieces of
writing in modern English fiction. Not a word is wasted and not a word rings false.
The second half of the novel, however, takes us to unfamiliar regions. Krishna's
numbed misery and his wish to be both a mother and a father to Leela are
understandable enough, but the experiments in psychic communication with Susila
with the help of a medium introduce a whimsical or fantastic element into a story
which, up to that point, had been transparently true to life. The eccentric headmaster
of the 'pyol' school and his termagant wife and their wild children make for further
seemingly incongruous elements.

Automatic writing and attempts at psychic contact with the dead are not
altogether uncommon: and the soil of India doubtless breeds every type
of idealist and eccentric, waif and vagabond. Nevertheless it is difficult to
feel that the first and second halves of 'The English Teacher' blend
naturally and make an artistic whole. The theme of the novel is obviously
the 'death' of Susila in the first half, and her 'resurrection' in the second
half. Paradise Lost being followed by paradise Regained. Krishna loses
Susila in the flesh, but on the last page of the novel she comes back to
him, to be with him forever.
'Susila! Susila!' I cried. 'You here!' 'Yes, I'm here, have always been
here.'
Is Krishna dreaming? Is it anything more than the physical projection of
Krishna's psychic ecstasy? Isn't this a resurrection greater than life? 'The
boundaries of our personalities suddenly dissolved' Krishna concludes
his autobiographical narrative. 'It was a moment of rare, immutable joy -
a moment for which one feels grateful to life and death'.
According to Professor P S Sundaram, The English Teacher is a novel
with a difference, not only in the type of love between Krishna and Susila
that is depicted, but also in the author's bold excursion into the realms of
the dead. But then one is inclined to accept K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar's
view when he asks 'Is Krishna dreaming? Is it any more than an
apocalyptic vision of Krishna's psychic ecstasy? Isn't this a resurrection
greater than life!'

 Characters
 Krishna
 Krishna is by far a very caring and supportive husband to
Sushila. Unlike other Indian male protagonists,Krishna is an
atypical Indian husband. He plays the role of a companion,
a friend and even a nurse to Susila. Far from being an
orthodox husband, Krishna has allowed Susila to take over
the financial aspect of his household. He allows Susila to
plan the family budget,showing thus his trust on her. He
also uplifts Susila to an equal status and respects her rights.
Instead of treating her as inferior,he manages to make her
enjoy her freedom.

 Romantic and passionate,Krishna also expresses his love in

several ways. His poems, the comparison to jasmine flowers
and the way he admires her while she prays show how much
he is in love with Susila.

 Moving on in the novel, Krishna unveils new facets of his

character. He remains loyal to Susila even after her death
and he adopts a new role,that of being a mother figure for
Leela. This indeed makes him an admirable character. Even
after being talked into re-marriage,he remains devoted to
his only love,Susila.
 As an English teacher, Krishna has been highly criticised as
being too academic oriented. He is a robotic teacher who
shows no major interest in imparting knowledge to his
students. He is a stark contrast to Leela's teacher who seems
to be more a dedicated,creative teacher. The latter uses
innovative teaching methodologies and invests his time and
himself in his work.

 Susila
 Though the quite short appearance of Susila, readers are
still able to appreciate her character. She captures our
interest as she stands out as an Indian wife. Unlike
traditional Indian wives, she refuses to be dominated by her
husband. Instead she is the one who controls her family
budget and that with a close fist. She is very strict about the
expenses of Krishna and takes a very stern stance with her
husband.
 As a mother, Susila is portrayed as a caring and attentive
mother. Even when she is sick, she insists on combing the
hair of Leela and keeping her clean and neat. Her death
evidently leaves a huge void in the life of Leela. She stands
as a symbol of motherly love, always showering love on her
daughter, Leela.

 THEMES
 LOVE
 Love is a key theme in the novel: marital love,motherly
love,parental love among others. Marital love and marital
bliss encompass mostly the first three chapters. RK Narayan
provides a rather detailed description of the short lived
marital happiness of Susila and Krishna. It is indepth
insight into their marital relationship which makes Susila's
death more poignant. While many claim that the text bears
 many autobiographical elements, with Narayan's own wife
dying of a long disease, the novel moves at a higher
dimension.

 Parental love is also treated as a key theme. Krishna,though

having been far from his daughter for long, quickly knits a
strong bond with his daughter. Later,after the death of
Susila,he plays both the mother and father roles.

 Education
 Different aspects of education are shown. While Krishna
adopts a more repetitive and robotic approach to
education,Leela's teacher focuses more on a creative
approach. Krishna is portrayed more as the conventional
teacher and relying on parrot learning. He does not seem to
be too keen about his job. He teaches mostly for his monthly
salary. Leela's teacher, on the other hand, is a dedicated
teacher who values the imagination of the students.

The English Teacher by R.K.Narayan - Is Man is Master of

his own Destiny? (Postcolonial Literature)

Man is master of his own destiny implies that man has full control
over his course of life, forming it at will as he goes along, something
that does not apply when it comes to Krishna. The whole novel is set
in motion out of the sources of unpredictability in Krishna’s life, the
surprises that tore his conventional world apart. The unexpected
occurs when all seems to flow in a planned and predictable manner.
Right at the beginning of the novel, Krishna appears to be a
completely idle person, leading “the life of a cow”, who makes all
sorts of plans about trivial activities he never fulfils with the self-
deceiving excuse that he is too busy. He lives in the cloistered,
ordered microcosm of a college under the British colonial rule, where
he was once a student, now teaching English Literature. Life for him
up to that point was completely predictable and controllable, since
he spent most of his years in the college that he studied, providing
himself a safe cushion from reality and responsibility, with the price
of boredom and the sense that something is missing.

Soon he receives a letter informing him that his wife and child will
come to live with him. Susila’s arrival back in the life of Krishna
signifies the first transition in his life, something he did not chose for
himself, since he is terrified of responsibilities, but was forced to go
along with. His wife takes up the role of a catalyst in the novel, as she
gradually becomes his moving force that pushes him throughout the
story. Their marriage at first glance seems to be a typical, arranged Indian
marriage and their relationship superficial and boring, but at the end we are
proven wrong as we see that between them exists a love that certainly is
more powerful than life and death itself, as these factors were not proven
strong enough to separate them. Therefore, love proves a stronger force
that Krishna cannot override, a force that eventually controls him.

The novel is a surprise itself, as Narayan, the real Krishna (since the
novel is partially autobiographical), appears to not have any plan as
to where the story is going. The first surprise for the reader is the
fact that Krishna has a wife and child, something that he did not
mention before, but the greatest surprise of all is Susila’s
unpredictable death and her even more unexpected return in
Krishna’s life through the after-after life, resulting in the most
fascinating twist in the novel, sessions of psychic communication, in
a period that Krishna predicted it to be in a manner where there
would be “no more surprises and shocks in life”. Narayan has been
criticized by a vast number of western critics for this plot twist, since
they felt that it did not fit with the rest of the book which appeared
to be more realistic, but this is how the full extent of the
unpredictability is established within the novel.

Krishna did not adjust easily to his new family-based life, his first
related outburst occurred when Susila rid him of his predictable-
unpredictable alarm clock that went off at random times in the day
causing a nuisance to all. He used a literary tome to suppress its
unpredictable nature and silence it, while he himself lived under the
clock’s suppression, just like he used a literary approach towards life
to prevent himself from accepting its unexpected truths.

The fact that Susila sold it is symbolic of her freeing Krishna of the
views that supressed him, including the colonial views at his college,
but also the things that he was attached to and prevented him from
moving on in his life, starting from a material object such as the
clock, symbolic of time and it’s reign over the lives of the people. This
signifies the official transition in Krishna’s life, from predictability to
the unpredictability that Susila brought into his life, something that
again has no control over, but is eventually proven to be a source of
inspiration and delight as soon as he realises that there is always a
limit to what can be achieved through anything that is knowable and
predictable.

For example when they go for a walk in search of a new house, Susila
takes the long route to bathe her feet in the river, in contrast to the
rational approach of Krishna who would take the most direct route.
This unpredictability however also provides the biggest twist to the
story, when Susila gets stuck in a contaminated lavatory and
contracts a disease that would eventually lead to her death,
something that it was impossible to be guessed either by the reader
or Krishna. This contrasts with the pre-planned course of events in
Krishna’s mind, which was buying the house and the predicted
danger that something bad could have happened to Leela while they
left her back home.

Susila’s illness is also tried to be controlled by both the doctor and

Krishna, the former expecting it to run by schedule, predicting that
“it is the one fever which goes strictly by its own rules” and “follows
a time table”. However, despite the deceiving image of everything
running smoothly with an “absolute normal course, no
complications”, Susila dies, to everyone’s surprise. Here it is evident
how helpless is man before a disease, the unexpected factor and the
inevitable truths of life and death.

Furthermore, Narayan suggests that there are much stronger forces

that affect our lives than what we believe and see, making it
impossible to control everything and expect it to run as planned.
Another example of this is the headmaster’s belief in his predicted
death by an astrologer. While every single day flows as he had
predicted it, death does not come on the final day. Narayan proceeds
again to show how rules and expected facts by both science and
mysticism can be defied by forced higher than the capacity of man’s
comprehension, since both disregard the factor of the unknowable.
It is this inevitable truth of life that the reader realises along with
Krishna, throughout his journey during the course of the novel where
he gradually learns to face life itself, instead of idly philosophizing it
and living it through literature, a means that depicts other people’s
experiences, which he uses to predict his own life.

Children also prove to be very useful guides to Krishna’s process of

realisation, with their inspiring spontaneity and natural perfection.
They are solid examples of what Krishna aspires to be, setting himself
free of all the systems of thought introduced to him by the colonial
rule in the college he attended, from where he later attempts to
leave, when he is ready to also be set free from the “knowledge”
that he was imbibed with and the life of stability he was previously
leading. He replaces his conventional “successful” job with the
steady salary with an unstable job at the nursery, with a much lower
salary and an unknown future, managing to break free from the
conventions of western systems of thought that had supressed him
and tried to define and predict his course of life.

To conclude, in the beginning of the novel, he thinks he is the master

of his own destiny, but he is deeply deluded, since he is completely
passive and subdued under colonial rule, as he proceeds however, he
learns how it is to live outside the microcosm and the restrictions of
the college, in the real world. Towards the end of his journey we
actually see him taking some serious action and for the first time
actually deciding for himself, defying the rational choices and risking
everything he was attached to in his life to eventually break free
from within his own mind and therefore to be able to see and
contact Susila from the realm of the afterlife. This is what his journey
was really about, becoming the master of his own destiny by
embracing the unknowable factor of life and its risks; to take action
even with the knowledge that not all can turn out as expected.