Write a note on
(a) The Oriya novel
(b) Jane Austen’s portrayal of women
© The picture of the new middle class which the novel Pariksha-Guru portrays
(a) The Oriya Novel In 1877-78, Ramashankar Ray, a dramatist, began serialising the first Oriyajrovel Saudamani. But he could not complete it. Within 30 years, however, Orissa produced a major novelist in Fakir Mohan Senapati (1843-1918).
The title of his novel Chaa Mana Atha Guntha announces a new kind of novel that will deal with the question of land and its possession. This pathbreaking work showed that the novel could make rural issues an important part of urban preoccupations. In writing this, Fakir Mohan anticipated a host of writers in Bengal and elsewhere.
(b) Jane Austen’s Portrayal of Women The novels of Jane Austen give us a glimpse of the world of women in genteel rural society in mid-19th century Britain. Women at that time were encouraged to look for a good marriage and find a wealthy and propertied husband.
Her famous novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ depicts this well. The main characters are shown to be pre-occupied with marriage and money.
© Srinivas Das’s novel Pariksha-Guru reflects the inner and outer world 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 and 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.