Write short notes on (a) Jane Austen's portrayal of women. (b) The picture of the new middle class which the novel 'Pariksha Guru' portrays

(a) The novels of Jane Austen give us a glimpse of the world of women in genteel rural society in mid-nineteenth century Britain.
Women, at that time, were encouraged to look for good marriage and find wealthy and propertied husband. Her famous novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ depicts this well. It writes “it is the truth, universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a good wife”. The main characters are shown to be pre-occupied with marriage and money.
(b) Srinivas Das’s novel ‘Pariksha Guru’ reflects the inner and outer world themselves of the newly emerging middle class in India.
It shows how the characters of this novel are caught in the difficulty of adapting themselves to colonised society and at the same time preserving their own cultural identity. Modernity appeared to be frightening at the same time irresistible. The novel tries to teach the readers to be rooted to their own tradition and culture and to live in dignity and honour. It also teaches one to be worldly wise and practical to survive in this material world.