In her first married days Rukmani recalls: “While the sun shines on you and the fields are green and beautiful to the eye, and your husband sees beauty in you which no one has seen before, and you have a good store of grain laid away for hard times, a roof over you and a sweet stirring in your body, what more can a woman ask for?”. The easy way of showing, and in particular the way she connects the beauty of the land with the beauty her husband saw in her, shows fullness of life that sets the tone for the contrasts to follow. This small quote emphasizes the thankfulness that Rukmani felt towards her fate, considering her marriage at a young age. Rukmani is thankful for the land that her family owns, but there came a time when all the happiness …show more content…
Through the act of gardening, Rukmani develops closeness with the land, represented in the writing, on the body and spirituality. She recalls: “I was young and fanciful then, and it seemed to me not that they (pumpkins) grew as I did, unconsciously, but that each of the dry, hard pellets I held in my palm had within it the very secret of life itself, curled tightly within, under leaf after protective leaf”. Her first planting of pumpkins is a special process for her, since “Rukmani experiences her own physical, emotional, sexual and psychological development through her work in the garden and the growth of her vegetables” (Dana C. Mount). It is evident that growing pumpkins, or anything else in particular, was a very interesting and pleasurable task for Rukmani, because she describes the growth as something that she should be proud and happy about: “I tried not to show my pride. I tried to be offhand. I put the pumpkin away. But pleasure was making my pulse beat; the blood, unbidden, came hot and surging to my face”. The land she loves gives her not only food and shelter, but life lessons that she can use throughout her …show more content…
When they move to Nathan’s village far from Rukmani’s family home, he is ready to show what his land can offer. He picks up a handful of harvest and promises that with “Such harvests as this, you shall not want for anything”. With this jolt towards the time ahead, Markandaya effectively plants the suspicion, in the characters, that matters will start breaking apart. The thought of a better future is evident in the capable and strong body of her husband. This hints that the land, that Rukmani loved so much, starts to somewhat take away her peace, tranquility and comfort of her land. She starts to doubt the thought that she will continue to be happy. When white missionaries come, they bring something that will also take away so much from the land: tannery. “They had invaded our village with clatter and din,” she recollects, “had taken from us the maidan where our children played, and had made the bazaar prices too high for us”. More and more buildings were built during “industrialization” and more and more land was being “swallowed” by new ways of survival. “Not a month went by but somebody’s land was swallowed up, another building appeared. Day and night the tanning went on. A never-ending line of carts brought the raw material in—thousands of skins, goat, calf, lizard and snake skins—and took them away again tanned, dyed and finished. It seemed impossible that markets could be found for
Alexandra is a hard working young lady and will do anything to make her father proud. When the drought and depression struck three years later, Alexandra's determination to keep the farm allows her to persevere. Many families, including Carl Linstrum's, sell their farms and move away. However, Alexandra believes in the promise of the country and staying true to her father's word. She convinces her brothers to re-mortgage their farm and buy more land. She also convinces them to look for more innovative farming techniques.
Although Alexandra begins working the land to fulfill her father’s dying wish, no one in her early life ever realizes that perhaps she had other dreams and other wishes. “You feel that, properly, Alexandra’s house is the big out-of-doors, and that it is in the soil that she expresses herself best,” an...
Nectar in a Sieve. New York: J. Day, 1955. Print. In Indian the child marriage is legally and common. In many jurisdictions is bellow 18 years old, especially on girls. Ruku describes her status as the fourth daughter of an important village headman. By the age of 12 years old, Ruku get married. She dreamed with a lover gentle man for her husband, but Nathan her husband was the opposite quiet and reticent. Although she came from a wealthy family, she describe how she was adapt to a humidly life. Nathan always persisted on having the control over his wife. However, Nathan was in loving his wife spite his behavior. By the 20th century, India women were in different standard than men. Indian women were inferior to men. Nathan was always in love with Ruku but it was very difficult to express that you really felt for his wife. She describes her life in this book as despair and poverty for everything that happened. Despite everything Nathan was at his side and together they faced the shortcomings and difficulties of
Their conversations show more deeply how each culture views marital relationships. Rukmani only sees Kenny for her fertility problems when her husband won’t find out; she believes he will be angry (Markandaya 21). She also only takes Ira to Kenny when her husband leaves town: “I (Rukmani) waited all day [to see you]. My husband will be back soon and the I cannot come” (Markandaya 59). Though she subverts it, Rukmani is limited by her belief she cannot disobey her husband. Instead, since she doesn’t ask his permission, she can’t break his rules. Kenny scorns this, saying, “You people will never learn. It is pitiful to see your foolishness” (Markandaya 59). In Kenny’s country, women have rights. They can even divorce their husbands, as Kenny’s wife does. Rukmani fails to understand how this woman can leave her husband and wonders if it’s Kenny’s long absences. They discuss women’s role, Rukmani says, “A woman’s place is with her husband” Kenny replies, “You simplify everything… Your views are so limited it is impossible to explain to you” (Markandaya 106).
The patient was more beautiful than she realized. If only she could see it for herself. The color from her dainty face had drained to a sickened green tint and her eyes widened in fear. The walls of the clinic exam room were ordained in calming colors, but offered the young woman no comfort. She continued to blink rapidly as if she would awaken from the nightmare; her long eyelashes could not fan the health worker’s words away. She thought it was harmless, just a night of fun. It made her feel valuable and attractive. Yet being desired now left her alone, crumpling to the floor screaming between sobs and desperately reaching to the empty air around her. She couldn’t grasp any security. Not only did that harmless night of fun result in her becoming
Firstly, many people will argue that Nathan and Rukmani’s arranged marriage evolved into a true marriage. Seeing that the two stuck together through hardships, such as the drought, can show a real connection. Their presented love bond also presents itself as a support to get them through the difficulties of the city, such as working together at the stone quarry to get back home. Though this may be a possible conclusion, there is stronger evidence th...
The French 1884 oil on canvas painting The Song of the Lark by Jules-Adolphe Breton draws grasps a viewer’s attention. It draws an observer in by its intense but subtle subject matter and by the luminous sun in the background. Without the incandescent sun and the thoughtful look of the young woman, it would just be a bland earth-toned farm landscape. However, Breton understood what to add to his painting in order to give it drama that would instantly grab an onlooker’s interest.
In Khaled Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, you read a story about two women named Mariam and Laila. They were brought jarringly together by war, loss and by fate. The novel extends over a period for 50 years and follows the upbringing of the two main characters. As a result of this, this essay will deal with Mariam and Mariam’s life through four years of rough marriage.
A reader may ask, why are “her loves” important to the story that unfolds? Clearly, Pejsa discovered that to understand Gratia, one must understand the driving forces – the people she loved – that influenced and shaped her despite the social mores that defined marriage, love and the role of women during that era.
There was a seemingly endless drought, the land was destroyed by poor farming techniques, and many left the broken tribe for opportunity in Johannesburg. The absence of rain left the people in despair. Without rain, the streams ran dry, they could not raise cows, and crops failed. No rain translated into no hope. When Kumalo returned to Ndotsheni following his journey to Johannesburg, he prayed for rain. He knew that rain would restore their land. After Kumalo learns that his son would not receive mercy and Jarvis put the sticks in the ground for the dam, the drought finally breaks when a storm passes over Ndotsheni. These two important events, along with the rain, bring about great change for both Kumalo and his village. On one hand, Absalom is going to die, but on the other hand, the village will come back to life. This juxtaposition reveals Kumalo’s conflicting feelings of grief and joy during his return to his people. Overall, the rain, paired with Jarvis’ help, breathes life into the people of Ndotsheni, giving them new hope for a prosperous
Mimi Khalvati explores the theme of longing in her ten stanza Ghazal, ‘Ghazal.’ Semantic fields of nature and constant refrain help express out the central themes of the poem. Likewise, ‘The Farmer’s Bride’ by Charlotte Mew uses structure and natural imagery to explore the theme of wanting and imbalance in the relationship she presents in her poem.
In conclusion, the short story deals and addresses the conflicts one might face as they join into the joys of marriage. Marriage as it is know in today's society is professed to be filled with happiness, romance and perfection. Kate Chopin uses this short story to show that even though entering into the institution of marriage is great. After the newness of romance is gone and the harsh reality of losing your identity settles, your life will now revolve around the imposition and care of another.
Rukmani’s move to the city was a bad idea, because she had no idea if her son could even afford to take care of them. They should have stayed in the small town, especially since her husband was sickly and this move would, and did, kill him at the end of the book. Eventually Rukmani had to move back to her small town because of his death.
By this account, one may better understand the helpless feeling of the farmer. The pressures are there, both economic and social, to expand. When the farmer is conscience of this drifting away from a more direct contact with the soil, as Meyers' father was, the sadness may be greater, but even farmers who are not alert to what is happening will suffer. This is ...
spent a lot of time thinking how to get rid of the house and the farm and to abandon his family. The mother also wants to be free from home and her marriage life. She plans to sell the house and escape to Europe where she thinks dreams can be attainable. Family and home are no longer a source of security, tranquility, and happiness for parents; they are rather a source of misery and meaninglessness for their lives. They are unable to realize the true meaning of their lives and the intimate and warm relationship that characterizes the relationship between a husband and a wife in the space of the house. The father escapes this reality by abandoning his family. He isolates himself and drinks heavily to find himself at the end drowned in debts