Rajmohan's Wife

After reading the chapters on India in Peter Fryer’s Black People in the Empire, which aspects of the society portrayed in the novel seem to reflect the conditions he describes? For example, how are titles used?

When was the novel published? (1864)

How would you describe the narrative? What is the effect of its serial publication? Does it resemble Victorian British serialized novels you have read?

Is the title appropriate? What effect does the choice of title have on the reader’s response to the book?

What are features of the novel’s style? What are some contrasts between the characters? What do you notice about the physical descriptions of the characters?

Which expressions seem to be those of a non-native speaker?

What are some instances of irony? (chapter 4, origins of landowner’s family)

How is Matangini first presented, and how is her character contrasted with that of others? Why do you think she is not named in the opening chapters?

Who are the main characters? Does the emphasis on various protagonists change? (Matangini, Kanak, Rajmohan, Madhav, Tara, Champak, the two thieves)

Would you say that to some degree there seems to be a compound protagonist?

Did any plot twists surprise you?

What do we learn about the position of women in rural Bengal at the time?

What seems the relationship of the narrator to the reader? Does this resemble the narrative voice in British Victorian novels you have read?

What event precipitates the ending? Is this a surprise? (had expected Rajmohan to be center of interest)

What plot elements are left unfinished at the end? How might they have been filled out?

What is the role of the sole British officer in the book? Is he favorably portrayed? (yes, Irishman is honest)

What are some important themes? (female virtue and faithfulness; the subordinate lot of women; the role of servants; the relation of the landlord class to other; the treachery of relatives)

Would you describe this book as feminist? Traditional? Proto-feminist? To what extent do the women manifest sisterhood?

How are rural and urban society differentiated? What role does education play in the novel?

What landscapes are described? Are these central to the plot? (provide hiding places for thieves and for Matangini)

Is religion important to the story?

In what ways does this novel differ from Victorian novels of the period you have read? What are some similarities? (emphasis on plot, crime fiction element, descriptions of characters' appearance, intrusive narrator)