R. K. Narayan, The Dark Room

Joshua Grasso (East Central University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.3.1.03: Indian Writing and Culture: Post-colonial, 1947-present.
Vol. editors: Claire Gallien (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3), Pavan Kumar Malreddy (J W Goethe University of Frankfurt), Delphine Munos (Université de Liège)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1938

Places

India (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Though Narayan’s third novel, The Dark Room, is one of his least known, it reveals a side of the author that belies his reputation as a light-hearted humorist. By turns comic and insightful, the novel moves away from the semi-autobiographical narrative of Narayan’s childhood to imagine the cramped, insular world of the Indian wife in a ‘modern’ Indian household. The portrait was undoubtedly inspired by his young wife, Rajam, whom he married in 1934, a woman of great beauty but little formal education. As she was only sixteen when they married, the role of tutor fell uncomfortably on his shoulders, perhaps making him realize how ill-prepared Indian women were to lead fulfilling, self-sufficient lives. Yet …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2389 words

Citation: Grasso, Joshua. "The Dark Room". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2022 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1124, accessed 24 November 2024.]

Save this article