Comparison of the narrator and Olivia

The two woman, Olivia and the narrator, have many differences, but also some things in common. Olivia is a distant relative of the narrator. Both woman are English and go to India. One of them, because of her husband, being an British administrator there, and the other one, because she wants to retrace the steps of Olivia. Because the narrator wants to retrace the steps of Olivia, she goes to the same town and sees the same houses. But it is another time and thus the houses are not anymore what they have been once, so there is a little difference. Olivia never really got in ccontact with the Indians themselves, their culture, religion and way of living. By contrast the narrator gets much in ccontact with the Indian population. She gets good friend with her landlords mother and also the midwife Maji. Getting in ccontact with them, she also gets in ccontact with their culture, religion and whole way of living. The naturally consequences of that is, that she also learns Hindu. She doesn´t only learn it, because she is in ccontact with Indian people, but also because she really wants to learn the language. Olivia in contrast only has ccontact with the other English couples being there and thus she only speaks English. Moreover she doesn´t want to learn Hindu or anything Indian. The narrator experiences a change. She, after some time living in India, gets more like the Indian people. But I don´t think that there also is a change in Olivia´s personality. Both of the women get pregnant. And both of the pregnancies pose a problem. Olivia´s baby is from the Nawab, and not from her husband Douglas and the narrators baby is from her landlord Inder Lal, who has a wife and children. Both reactions towards the pregnancies are nearly the same, what I think is not unusual. Both of them think about an abortion and also both start one, but the narrator gets sure while the massage, that she wants to have the baby, and thus she stops the abortion. In contrast Olivia has the abortion and thus doesn´t get the baby. Olivia never returned to England. She lives in a house, the Nawab has bought for her and lived there the last years of her life. The narrator goes to the house, where Olivia has spend her last years of life. The reader doesn´t get to know if the narrator returns to England some time, but it´s probable, that she also never returned.

Characterisation of the narrator

The narrator of the novel “heat and dust” from Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is an English woman. She comes to India for retracing the steps of Olivia, a distant relative, who went to India with her husband in the 1920s. When she comes to India, she´s not knowing much about that country. She only knows, what she has read in Olivia´s letters. She´s naive and careless. But that´s only at the beginning of the novel. She moves to Satipur into an apartment. Her landlord is Inder Lal, a man with children and wife. The narrator lives there and retraces the steps of Olivia. By doing that, she gets nearer and nearer to the Indian population. She also starts learning to speak Hindu. When the summer-heat comes, it´s impossible to sleep inside. Thus she has to sleep outside with all the other people. Firstly she doesn´t really like that, but then, her opinion changes and she also feels that she really arrived now and is integrated into the community. She gets in contact with Inder Lals mother and also her friends, whom she sometimes joins in their jaunts through the town. The oldest one of these midwifes, called Maji, gets a very good friend of the narrator. There is a festival, called Husband´s Wedding Day, of which the narrator is critical. That shows that she also has her own opinion. But although being critical, the narrator feels again part of it all. In India there are often cripples and beggars on the streets. At the beginning, the narrator had to adapt, but by and by she got used to them. One time, she saw and beggar woman, who was ill and couldn´t help herself anymore. The narrator wants to help her and asks other people, also a doctor in hospital, for help, but no one wants to. Nearly accepting it, she realises that she has changed. She has become more like all the other Indians living there. Also situation with the sadhu Chid, living at her apartment for some time, shows some of the narrators (character) traits. She accepts many things, for example Chid going through her personal things, but if she thinks that it´s enough, she also draws the consequences, for example throwing Chid out. At the end of the novel, the narrator gets pregnant from Inder Lal. Firstly she doesn´t know what to do, but after Maji starting to make an massage for an abortion, she is sure, that she wants to have the baby and stops Maji doing the massage. The narrator stands by her pregnancy. She leaves Satipur and goes to the mountains into the house the Nawab has given to Olivia. The narrator experiences, how Olivia´s last years of life could have been.

The narrator comes to India not knowing much about the country. But she settles in soon. She gets in contact with many Indians and even learns Hindu.

Characterisation of Olivia

Olivia is an English woman. She comes to India, because of her husband, who´s working there. They´re living together in a small apartment. They have servants, what means that they have enough money for living. They have good contact with other English couples, but less with the Indians. Thus they also live like English people are living and not like Indian ones. All the English couples they have contact with and also she and her husband aren´t integrated in Indian life, but it seems as if they don´t really want that. Olivia loves her husband Douglas at the beginning of the novel very much. But she also has her own opinion on things, for example the suttee. Thus she wouldn´t go with Douglas, if he dies, but go on living, never mind how much she loves him. She has an own opinion. She holds her views about the different things. She gets to know the Nawab. He fascinates her very much, although he has a wild mood swing and so she has to suffer a little. She is seduced and by the Nawab. By and by Olivia´s wish of getting a baby grows bigger and bigger. She tries having a baby with Douglas, but it doesn´t work. She is in a way lonely in India, mainly if Douglas is at work. Then she also gets sad about the situation. In those times she wishes  so much to have a baby and imagines that everything would turn in the good way, if she had one. When the summer heat comes, Olivia doesn´t go with the other women to the colder Simla, but stays with her husband. During the day, she stays at the Nawabs palace. There it´s much colder and more comfortable and she also has amusement, because she spends time with the Nawab and Harry. She likes being in the palace very much. She falls in love with the Nawab and gets pregnant. The probability that the father of the baby will be the Nawab is very probable. Olivia is torn. She doesn´t know what to do. Getting the baby she has been waiting for so long, although it´s so probable that not her husband, but the Nawab is the father, or having an abortion. She decides for having an abortion. After removing the dead fetus, Olivia runs away from hospital and to the Nawabs palace. She breaks up with Douglas. The last days of her life she stays in a house in the mountains, which the Nawab has bought for her. Olivia is a woman, who is committed to all her decisions she made.

key scenes from “Gandhi”

1. assassination scene

In this scene is shown how Gandhi is shot down. The scene is found not only in the beginning, but also at the end of the film. Normally the viewer expects not Gandhi´s death in the beginning, but showing this scene first of all, the spectator knows what will happen to Gandhi and thus he´s able to concentrate on other things, for example how it amounts to this kind of death and to the whole situation.

2. Gandhi in South Africa - burning the passes

In this scene Gandhi is in South Africa where he advocates for the rights of the Indian minority. He protests against an existing unjust law. He starts burning the passes, the Indians have to carry all along. He gets to know the brutality of the police officers, but that doesn´t bar him from going on to burn the passes.

3. Life in ashram

I think his life in the ashram was very important for Gandhi. It has something to do with the Hindu religion and, because it´s of place of retirement in a way, Gandhi can also reflect and meditate on many things.

4. The second meeting - passive resistance

At this second meeting Gandhi tells many other Indians about his dream of independent India and how he wants to achieve this. The only way to the independence of India is the passive resistance. Gandhi appeals for their help and gets much support.

5. Visit at poor & starving farmer

Gandhi visits a poor and starving farmer. He catches sight of the bad conditions, which exist for many people. He tells the farmer, that he´ll do his best. Thus Gandhi informs himself and gets to know more and more about the situation. His decision to take action against the British and particularly their behaviour towards the Indians stronger.

6. Gandhi´s fast

Gandhi did fast some times. He has done this as his personal form of protest. He wanted to point out, that the independence of India can only be reached, if there is no violence. The resistance has to be passive. While his fasts he pushed the envelope, but he reached, what he wanted. The people stopped fighting and also stopped using violence.

7. Salt march

Gandhi went with many other people to the sea for extracting salt. He said that it was the salt of the Indian people and the British aren´t entitled to extract salt and sell it for many money to the Indian people. Thus the Indians now extracted the salt from the sea.

Gandhi-The Movie: While-watching-assignment

Part one

4. What is Gandhi´s first public meeting about? he outlines his method of fighting an unjust law. What is it? What is the outcome of the meeting?

Gandhi´s first public meeting is in South Africa. Gandhi campaigns for the rights of the Indian minority there. There exists an law, which is unjust. The Indians have to have passes and wear them with them all the time. Gandhi doesn´t want this passes to exist and thus he appeals for burning all the passes. He start doing that and some officer starts baring Gandhi from doing that. He doesn´t stop and he gets more and more hits.

9. At the end of this meeting, the audience stands. What is the meaning of this? What is the irony of the Englishmen standing.

At the end of the meeting the audience is standing, because they want to show, that they agree with Gandhi and that they are all set to do this kind of fighting, the passive resistance. Everyone standing up, shows that they have a big will in supporting Gandhi. At the end all together sing, I think, a kind of national anthem. When national anthems are sung, everyone rises for showing respect (also  before football games). It behoves everyone to stand up at national anthems and thus also the Englishmen arise, although they don´t agree with Gandhi and his just now taken speech.

14. Costuming is an important element of cinematography. Compare the dress of Gandhi to the other Indian officials. What conclusion can you draw?

Gandhi is wearing clothes he has made by his own. It´s a traditional Indian dhoti and shawl. On the other hand there are the Indian officials, who are wearing clothes, which are more looking like British ones. This behaviour in clothing shows, that Gandhi is more among to India and thus also to the Indian population and the Indians living all over the world. The Indian officials rather belong to the English, ruling the country. Gandhi advocates the Indians and by contrast the Indians officials attend the British.

19. What are Gandhi´s keys to a successful and independent India.

Firstly the fight for an successful and independent India has to be without violence. The resistance has to be passive. The fight with violence has not the effect, Gandhi wants to have, because “An eye for an eye makes the whole world bind”. Thus violence has to be avoided. As a second key the Hindu- Muslim conflict has to be settled. Without that, there will no successful and independent India be ever. As a third key there has to be an abolition of the of the fact that people can be considered as untouchables. This abolition has to be made, because there can´t be an successful and independent India with such an great difference/ disparity within the population.

Part two

4. As a result of the salt march and the salt works demonstrations as well as the news coverage of both , Gandhi is requested to travel to England for hearing about an independent India. What is the result of the trip?

Gandhi travels to England, where he was invited to listen the “round table” talking about independence of India. But at the moment I can´t remember any result.

a poem

as an English woman going to India

for retracing the steps of a relative

adventurous step

experiencing India

living like my relative

comprehend her way of living

really liking India,

the people living there

don´t want to miss that

getting in contact with other Indians

really good-natured people

a change in character

becoming like an Indian

getting pregnant

becoming a mother

indescribable happiness

no return to England

but living in the mountains

beautiful India

the Nawab´s last years

What do we know about the Nawab´s last years?

After Olivia´s miscarriage, the Nawab takes on her (p.157, ll.25-26). He buys a house in the mountain for her (p.158, ll.7-9). The Nawab one time comes to England, more precisely to London (p.158, l.5). There he meets Harry and his friend Ferdie, with whom Harry lives together now (p.158, ll. 1-3). The Nawab has changed a lot (p.158, ll.4-5), not only he himself had changed, but also his circumstances (p.158, l.4). He no longer lived at Claridges, because he had no money for this (p.158, ll.5-6). Thus his situation hasn´t become better, but worse.

Olivia´s life after her elopement

What do we know about Olivia´s life after her elopement?

Olivia miscarries. After hearing Dr. Saunders opinion about that, she runs away from the hospital (p.157, ll.15-16). She came, how Harry presumed, by some native mode of transport (p.157, ll16-17) to the Nawab´s palace. Olivia was in a way in flight (p.157, l13). The Nawab takes on Olivia (p.157, l.26) and bought a house in the mountains for her, where she stayed the rest of her life (p.158, ll.7-9).

Summary: Olivia´s story (pp.154-158)

This section of Olivia´s story is about the reactions of the different people towards Olivia´s behaviour. Firstly the reaction of Beth Crawford is described. After that the reaction of Dr. Saunders, who curetted her, is named. Major Minnies later published a monograph on the influence of India on the European consciousness and character. A part of this monograph is written down in this section, thus the reader gets to know also the Major´s opinion. Then it´s told that Olivia goes to the palace and the Nawab, after escaping from the hospital, and doesn´t go back to her husband Douglas. In the end of this section the reader gets to know how Harry fares in England, after his return.

different endings of the two plots / different dealings with pregnancy

Whereas the narrator decides to have the baby, Olivia opts for an abortion. What could have been the author´s reason to end the two plots in such different ways? How do you feel about the way both women deal with their pregnancy?

There have always been many differences between Olivia and the narrator. One integrated herself to the community and the other one lived more isolated and didn´t really deal with the Indians, but had most contact with the other British, living there. Many other differences could be named here… Thus it is no real surprise, that also their pregnancies ended up just in antipodal directions. That is one possibility, why the narrator ended up the two plots in two absolutely different ways. The other reason for this could have been, that the author wanted to show that there are different ways, how a life in India for an English woman can become like. It shouldn´t only be shown the one side. The reader should also know, that there are different endings and so also different lives possible for a woman in India.

I think an abortion is always very horrible and it should be looked for another possibility of solving this type of problem. In nowadays there are many different ways of solving. But I don´t think that there are so many different ways in 1923 and in India. The probability that Olivia´s baby was from the Nawab, was comparatively probable, because Olivia and Douglas had tried it so many times before. If this was right, that the baby´s father is the Nawab, there would be many problems for Olivia. Because Olivia had no real possibility of getting the baby, but just after that, giving it away, like you can do it nowadays (for example: “Babyklappe”), and thus she couldn´t avoid problems, accompaniing with that, I can in a way understand her acting.

The narrator opts for the baby, although she knows that it could also cause problems. The baby is from Inder Lal, an Indian man, who has wife and children. This is a reason for big trouble, which could arise. But the narrator faces up the facts / problems. That, I think, is a brave decision for an English woman, living in India for her own.

For the named reasons, I can in a way understand both of the women. They´re living in different situations, where different actions aren´t unrealistic, although I remain with my opinion, that abortions are always horrible and should be avoided.