Feminist Perspective In Githa Hariharan’s The Ghosts of Vasu Master

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Recommended: Feminist movement in Indian literature

Githa Hariharan’s second novel The Ghosts of Vasu Master takes a fresh approach to address a number of postcolonial and postmodern issues. It deals with such themes as alternative methods of teaching, maladies and the process of healing, teacher-pupil relationship, and India’s journey as an independent nation. On probing deeper into the novel, however, it may be said that the novel also explores issues concerning women, their longings and their marginal existence in a patriarchal set-up.
Although The Ghosts of Vasu Master is not a woman-centric novel, yet Hariharan has subtly addressed many relevant feminist issues through it. The process of marginalisation of the girl-child, the husbands’ neglect of their wives, crimes committed upon women’s bodies and psyches, feminine interiority, post-widowhood loneliness, friendship among women—all these feminist issues find a highly refined, though brief, expression in the novel. In an interview given to Arnab Chakladar, Hariharan speaks about the feminist perspective in the novel: “The Ghosts of Vasu Master was my most ambitious attempt at looking at gender elliptically. And I think that is actually the most autobiographical of my novels” (www.anothersubcontinent.com).
Before beginning the discussion regarding the feminist themes in the novel, it will be appropriate to have a brief overview of its main narrative frame. The Ghosts of Vasu Master depicts the tale of a retired school-teacher, Vasu who lives by himself in the small place called Elipettai. Vasu is learning to cope with life after retirement. The memories of his past haunt him via thoughts, reminiscences and dreams. Vasu’s life has been a tale of linear existence. In playing his role as teacher, he...

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...is the binding thread of these feminist narratives. The core of the novel’s feminist argument lies in Vasu’s awakening to the fact that the concerted efforts of both men and women can lead to the creation of a world where both men and women can empower themselves and be their true selves.

Works Cited

Anima, P. “Going Strong after Decades of Writing.” The Hindu 19 Mar 2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

Hariharan, Githa. The Ghosts of Vasu Master. New Delhi: Penguin, 1994. Print.

---. “A Conversation with Githa Hariharan.” Interview by Arnab Chakladar. Another Subcontinent: South Asian Society and Culture, 2005. Web. 8 July 2013.

Rich, Adrienne. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.” Flamingo: Textbook in English for Class XII. New Delhi: NCERT, 2007. 103. Print.

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