had tried to dissuade him from marrying Gauri. He also learned that she was expecting Udayans child pregnant.
“She is expecting a child. An intelligent girl. This is what he told us after he married you. And yet incapable of understanding simple things.
Subashs parents did not want her, they only wanted her child. They often repeated to her, You wont be of help Lahiri, 2013: 110
From her mother in law statement, I can conclude that society glorifies the idea of perfect mother. They gave a great expectation that a woman should know
what happened when she was pregnant. Gauri’s mother in law said that Udayan’s description of Gauri as an intelligent girl is contradictive with the fact that Gauri
did not even realize that she was pregnant at that time. Bijoli Mitra, Subhash and Udayan’s mother, said Gauri position in the
family jeopardize the Mitras image in the society. Bijoli saw Gauri as an imperfect in law and she thought that Gauri was not going to be a good mother
because Gauri did not een know that she was pregnant. Bijoli said Gauri could choose to go somewhere to continue her studies. Bijoli disagree if Subhash had to
marry Gauri. Subhash pleaded for her saying, You cant separate them. For Udayans sake, accept her Lahiri, 2013: 114. His mother was very angry and
she spoke in an insulting tone: Dont tell me how to honour my own son Lahiri, 2013: 114. For her, Subhash comment dishonor her as a mother. She felt
that it violated her rights and her concept of nurturing and treating her sons. Contrary to her reaction and her treatment to Gauri, she preferred to disconnect all
the relationship to Gauri. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
4. Remarried second marriage
There was nothing Subhash could do to console his parents. It had mattered little if he had come all the way from Rhode Island at all. His mothers
deliberate coldness toward Gauri, reinforced by his fathers passivity was intended to drive her away from the house. All he could do to help Gauri from the cruelties
of his parents and the frequent police inquiries was to take her away legally by marrying her.
Gauri liked to observe someone. Gauri observed Subhash. She could not ignore that obvious facts reminded her of Udayans presence. Almost the exact
pitch and manner of speaking. This was the deepest and most startling proof of their fraternity. For a moment she allowed this isolated aspect of Udayan ,
preserved and replicated in Subhashs throat, to travel back to her Lahiri, 2013: 122.
She left Tollygunge, where she had never felt welcome, where she had gone only for Udayan. She began to explore her neighborhood and fascinated with
anything new. Among the sticks of butter and cartons of eggs she found something called
cream cheese. Not knowing it was intended to be spread on a cracker or bread, savoring the unexpected taste and texture of it in her mouth, licking
the paper clean Lahiri, 2013: 131
Gauri did not want anyone to know this, they had cut their ties with her. They had deemed her second marriage unchaste. She married Subhash as a means
of staying connected to Udayan. It was useless to save a single earring when the other half of the pair was lost Lahiri, 2013: 128
Initially she tried to mingle with the mixed Indian community: for instance, she was happy to mix with other women of the University at the dinner
party of Narasimhan and Kate. Later she withdrew saying she did not have anything common with them. Subhash found it quite disturbing when she cut her
hair short, dramatically altering her face and adopted the American style of dressing. She told Subhash that “I have nothing in common with them” Lahiri,
2013: 140 and “I was tired of those” Lahiri, 2013: 141, those statement showed that she was reluctant to adapt the new community in her neighborhood.
As she began to get bored, she began to explore other parts of the campus, wandering in and out. She’d intended to remain anonymous, to go unnoticed. But
one day while she was immersed in the lecture, her hand shot up. Gauri found herself paying attention. Eventually, wanting to take notes,
she searched in her bag for a sheet and a pen. Finding no paper, she wrote her notes in the margins of the campus newspaper she’d been carrying
around Lahiri, 2013: 132.
Certain irrational fears haunted Gauri before and after the birth of Bela, her child. She felt Bela was her child and Udayans, and Subhash’s help was
simply playing a part. She felt as if she contained a ghost, as Udayan was. The child was a
version of him, in that it was both present and absent. Both within her and remote Lahiri, 2013: 124.
After Bela was born, Gauri was aware how the slightest oversight on her part could cause Bela to be destroyed. Lahiri, 2013: 145.
5. Separated
When Bela and Subhash went to India for Mr.Mitra’s funeral, Gauri left their house. She finally felt that motherhood was not for her. The proof that Gauri
was not comfortable with her role as a mother can be seen in the quotation below. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
