Historicism of “The God of Small Things”

I.        Historicism by Hippolyte A. Taine

Historicism cannot be separated from Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (21 April 1828 – 5 March 1893) who was from French. He was a French critic and historian. He was the chief theoretical influence of French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism, and one of the first practitioners of historicist criticism. Literary historicism as a critical movement has been said to originate with him.

Taine was criticized, in his own time and after, by both conservatives and liberals; his politics were idiosyncratic. Taine rejected the principles of the Revolution in favor of the individualism of his concepts of regionalism and race, to the point that one writer calls him one of the most articulate exponents of both French nationalism and conservatism. He also formulated an alternative to rationalist liberalism that was influential for the social policies of the Third Republic. Taine's complex politics have remained hard to read; though admired by liberals. He has been the object of considerable disdain in the twentieth century, with a few historians working to revive his reputation.

His idea to criticism is analyzing literature from the history side, history of autobiography.  His theory says that man is bound by three components: race, milieu, and moment. Though Taine coined and popularized the phrase "race, milieu, and moment," the theory itself has roots in earlier attempts to understand the aesthetic object as a social product rather than a spontaneous creation of genius.

1.      Race is a matter of ethnicity, blood, and genetics.

2.      Milieu is a matter of surroundings and environments.

3.      Moment is a matter of momentum, the right time of writing or the right time of publishing.

Three important things in historicism are:

(a). Historicists believe that a novelist cannot free him/herself from his/her personal experiences and thus in a way his/her novels any novel has biographical elements

(b). All novelists cannot free himself/herself from the history of his/her time

(c). All novelists cannot free himself/herself from the Zeitgeist (Ind: semangat jaman)

II.     Arundhati Roy and The God of Small Things

Many of literary works which created by someone influenced by writers’ biography including The God of Small Things which wrote by Arundhati Roy. The analysis of this novel in historicism cannot be separated from writer’s biography as the writer. Roy is an Indian novelist, activist and a world citizen. She was born in November 24, 1960. Roy was born in Shillong, Meghalaya. She spent her childhood in Aymanam, a village in the state of Kerala, in southern India. Her father, a Hindu tea planter from Bengal, was divorced from her Syrian Christian mother when Roy was very young, and Roy was raised by her mother, who ran an informal school, in Corpus Christi. Roy left home when she was sixteen and embarked on a homeless lifestyle, staying in a small hut with a tin roof within the walls of Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla. She was selling empty beer bottles for a living. She eventually went to architectural school and married a fellow student, Gerard Da Cunha. Both quit their studies and moved to Goa, which is in Southwestern India. Roy eventually left Da Cunha and moved back to New Delhi, where she found a job at the National Institute of Urban Affairs. ("Author Biography." Novels for Students. Vol. 22. Gale Cengage, .eNotes.com.)

She wrote this novel because it wanted protest to the situation that's going on her place. There was discrimination and violence of social and economic rights function as underlying of conflict, creating the deep grievances and group identities that may be under some circumstances. Violations of civil and political rights, by contrast, are more clearly identifiable as direct conflict triggers. Roy concern for the environment and for the people through her life, inhabit it social conscience she shows can be read into the literature that he produce concrete as embodiment of these concerns (http://www.weroy.org).

According to Dirda (1998), the novel is also a portrait of Kerala, the densely populated Indian state on the subcontinent's southern tip that has a Communist government. It was very important to her that it be real, these stars, and these leaves. Most of the action takes place in 1969, Kerala is a place where big religions meet and rub against each other: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Marxism. Roy has long been something of a loner and a rebel. Like the character Ammu, Roy's own mother was divorced, a Syrian Christian, and subject to societal pressures. Instead, Roy moved out of the house when she reached 18, took a degree in architecture and lived a kind of footloose, hippie life. For a while she associated with a group she calls “the lunatic fringe.” Her first marriage, to a man from Goa, but it was not the last. She is now married to one-time movie director, but now environmentalist, Pradip Krishen. They met when he noticed this beautiful young woman riding her bicycle and asked her to be in his film.

The novel also describes the historical roots of these realities and develops profound insights into the ways in which human desperation and desire emerge from the confines of a firmly entrenched caste society. And all of which describe in this novel are similar with Roy’s life. After we know, Roy’s bibliography, we will discuss three components of historicism by Taine. We will discuss about race, milleu, and moment.

1.       Race

If we look from race point then the story of the novel brings us to two races; western, British and eastern, Indian. In this novel, it shows us how different British and Indian. British is regarded as the superior race while Indian is low class. In this novel show, how Kochamas’ family give the hard struggle to impress Margaret and Sophie Mol who come from England. Even the twins sing English song to impress Sophie Mol when they are on their way back home.

Besides, many Indians follow British rulers. For example, after Ammu calls her father a "wiper" in Hindi for his blind devotion to the British, Chacko explains to the twins that they come from a family of Anglophiles or lovers of British culture,  and he goes on to say that they despise themselves because of this.

The setting is in Indian. What happened in this story is picture of India. Because of the description above, Roy wrote this novel as a protest to the government, about discrimination and violence of social economic in India. After that, in India, the caste system was considered a way to organize society. The Ipes are considered upper class. They are factory owners, the dominating class. Mammachi and Baby Kochamma would not deign to mix with those of a lower class. Even Kochu Maria, who has been with them for years, will always be a servant of a lower class. It is describe social economic which happened in India.

Chacko suffers more veiled racial discrimination, as it seems his daughter also did. His English wife's parents were shocked and disapproving that their daughter should marry an Indian, no matter how well educated. Sophie Mol at one point mentions to her cousins that they are all "wog," while she is "half-wog."

The Ipes are very class conscious. They have a need to maintain their status. Discrimination is a way of protecting one's privileged position in society.

2.        Milleu

Milleu said as a matter of surroundings and environments. Then Anglophilia is the matter of in this case. Roy shows how Indians give the high praise to British. Roy wants to satirize her people because they very praise British and regard that British is better than Indians itself. Western values lie down in her novel, such as Chacko who studied in Oxford and married British women, Margaret; and has a half British Indian daughter, Sophie Mol. The Ipes invest on Western culture and education as their rightful source of collective references: Estha’s hero is Elvis Presley, the children speak English, uncle Chacko was sent to college, in England (Oxford) and the twins are taken to the movies to watch The Sound of Music.

After, Ammu was past away, Rahel continues her study in Delhi and takes architecture. Then, she moves to New York and Washington. When she was 31, she knows that Astha back to Ayemenem. And Rahel decides to back there. Being back in Ayemenem brings back a flood of memories for Rahel. The twins go through old items like their Wisdom Exercise Notebooks and look at little trinkets that they collected as kids. Rahel and Estha spend a lot of time together. Although, Rahel spend many times out of Ayemenem, she can not forget about this place.

The surrounding in India many violence happened to women and children. It because of economic and their social. Ammu is cruel to her children, especially Rahel. “If it weren’t you I would be free. I should have dumped you in a orphanage the day you were born. You’re the millstones round my neck!” So they decide to go out from their village. “Sophi Mol had convinced the twins that it was essential that go along”. It makes they think that mature people is smart people. They can do everything that they want. “The absence of children, the adults’ remorse. It would make them truly sorry. They would search everywhere…..all three them were dead. They would return home.”

Then, Baba lost his job and his English boss wants to sleep with his wife, Ammu. And of course, Baba agrees with the deal and proposed to Ammu. He bears it because he will get money to buy drinks. This is one of violence happened to woman.

3.       Momment

Moment is a matter of momentum, the right time of writing or the right time of publishing. In this novel, Baby Kochama and Mammachi have tricks to trap Rahel, and Esta. They don’t want they gathre with them. the first trick, Baby Kochamma and Mammachi trick Ammu into going into her room and they lock her in. When Estha and Rahel come to the door and ask Ammu why she's locked in her room, she screams that it's their fault. Then, Esta and Rahel decide to go from their home.

Then to cast out Ammu, Baby Kochama and Mammachi do trick B. Baby Kochamma goes to the police, making up a bogus story about how Velutha tried to rape Ammu and kidnapped the kids.then, the police try to find Velutha and drag him away. but Rahel and Esta know all of happend. and the police said that Rahel and Esta not look like kidnapped. but, when sophi mol follow Esta and Rahel go, she died and Baby Kochama blames Esta and Rahel who kill Sophi Mol. and Baby Kochama said to Esta and Rahel  to isert Ammu to the jail. And Ammu tries to clear Velutha's name.

In this novel writes Vellya Paapen is willing to kill his son when he discovers that his son has broken the most important rule of class segregation—that there be no inter-class sexual relations. Roy implies that this is why they are punished so severely for their transgression (http://www.shmoop.com).

In Johnson, S.P and Johnson, A.J (2001), it is stated that during 1990s India still had women right problems. Violence and inequality of women and men were obviously happened. Girls or women are only property for their family, husband and sons. The patriarchal nature of Indian society is seen quite clearly when one examines the role of women. For the most part, women are viewed and treated as inferior to men. As a result of this domination by men, women are economically dependent on men and have fewer choices in terms of occupation, education, and life course. From the day she is born until the day she dies, an Indian woman is expected to be under the control of a man and to serve him without. Female children are not as highly valued as male children, and females are often viewed as economic and social burdens. As a result of this low status and domination by men, some women in India are quite susceptible to abuse. The publishing of this novel is right in time. Roy brings feminism issue, sexism, and postcolonialism in her novel. Women abusing is also happened in her novel when Ammu is abused by Baba and sold to his Boss.

III.      The Equations of Roy’s life and The God of Small Things

In some parts of Roy’s novel take place from her experiences. For example, the Ammu character is taken from Roy’s mother who is divorced and living separately from her husband, Baba. It is said above that Roy’s mother is independence woman, then it is similar with Ammu character or Rahel who is also divorced as well. Then, Rahel takes architecture same like Roy. And, Rahel leave her hometown and back to her hometown and find many memories in her own hometown. It also happened in Roy’s life. Besides Rahel ever divorce to her husband and Roy does too.

Communist character, Chacko, is inspired by her place where it is the meet point of some religious, even communist or Marxism. The setting of the novel cannot be denied that it is taken from Roy’s born, and grow place, Ayemanam, Kerala.

In this novel, many people get violence cause of social/caste and economy. It also happened in Roy’s real life. So, she wrote this novel to make protest about this violence.

References

“Arundhati Roy.” Retrived from: http://www.weroy.org/arundhati.shtml

Dirda, Michael. July, 1998. “Indian Novelist and Booker Prize Winner Arundhati Roy”. Encarta Yearbook. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Johnson, P. S., & Johnson, J. A. (2001, September). The Oppression of Women in India. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, 7(9), 1051 - 1068. Retrived from: http://people.stfx.ca/accamero/Gender%20and%20Health/Other%20Readings%20Avaliable/other%20readings/The%20oppression%20of%20women%20in%20India.pdf

Angelika Olsson. 2011. Arundhati Roy: Reclaiming Voices on the Margin in The God of Small Things. Velutha character from http://www.shmoop.com/god-of-small-things/velutha.html

http://www.shmoop.com