Myth Connections: The Use of Hindu Myths and Philosophies in R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao- (Enlarged with «The Myth Connection») - Softcover

Sankaran, Chitra

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3039113224 ISBN 13: 9783039113224

Publisher: Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2007

Synopsis

This book is a comparative study of four novels respectively of Raja Rao and R.K. Narayan. Sourcing original works in Sanskrit and Tamil, this study attempts to tease out the similarities in themes and the common concern with traditional Hindu motifs and patterns that underlie these narratives, to reveal these authors’ engagement with various aspects of Hinduism, from the ‘ontological quest’ at its centre to the more contentious caste system.
The novels examined are Raja Rao’s Kanthapura, The Serpent and the Rope, The Cat and Shakespeare and The Chessmaster and His Moves and R.K. Narayan’s The Man-Eater of Malgudi, Mr Sampath, The Guide and The Painter of Signs. In the study, the terms ‘mythology’ and ‘philosophies’ include not just the legends and stories of the ancient texts and the associated philosophies, but a whole corpus of social attitudes these generate.

About this title

About the Author:

The Author: Chitra Sankaran is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the National University of Singapore. She has published extensively in the field of Indian Fiction in English. Her recent publications in the field include an edited volume on Asia-Pacific Literatures titled Complicities: Connections and Divisions. She is currently working on a volume of essays on Amitav Ghosh.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 3039113224
• ISBN 13: 9783039113224
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 326