Treatment of Women in Selected Works of R K Narayan

Abstract

This introductory chapter examines the concepts of nation and region, India as a nation and framing of Indian nationalism, the significance and sources of regionality along with the nature and scope of Indian Literature. This chapter highlights the major writers and their role in constructing the image of the region and the nation through novelistic discourse in English as well as the Gujarati language. The term nation has been evaluated on a variety of dimensions either on the philosophical or political ground. Hence, it needs to be introduced here with a critical overview of the term. The Online Etymology Dictionary defines the term nation as it came to English from the old French word nacion, which in turn originates from the Latin word nation; literally meaning that which has been born . The derivation of the word signifies that nation is an entity, which is produced or made. It seems to be a device associated with the individual to acquire self-identity in a global context. World Book Dictionary defines the concept of nation , as something which refers to a community, territory and government; and people who often share a common language, race, descent, and/or history. Narayan s major concern is human relationship in which he has woven together the issues like quest for identity, aspiration towards spiritual maturity, social evils along with Indian freedom movement and Gandhian preaching. Hence, one notices that though both the novelists seems progressing in the same direction and offers similar images of regionality and nation, there are some critical differences. While dealing with regional representation they visualize the indigenous culture in its multifaceted form through rendering a variety of issues like traditional, cultural and religious norms in Indian setting. The prime note of their fictional world is to define the indigenous spirit of traditional India and defending its indigenous consciousness.