Theme and Image in V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas
Author(s): DAVID ORMEROD
Source: Texas Studies in Literature and Language, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Winter 1967), pp. 589-602
Published by: University of Texas Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40753923 .
Accessed: 11/01/2014 02:04
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
University of Texas Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Texas Studies
in Literature and Language.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
DAVID ORMEROD
ThemeandImageinV.S. Naipaul's
A House for Mr. Biswas
at first sight, v. s. naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas (london,
1961 ) is a simpleand directnovel, a workin whichthewriterrejectsall
of presentationin orderto achieve an effect
obliquityand circuitousness
of directnessand precision.Yet Naipaul's calculated simplicityshould
notobscurefromus thefactthatmanyof thenovel'smost tellingeffects
are obtained by employinga consistentstructureof imageryand nearsymbolismwhichoperateson the surfaceof the novel but whichgivesa
consistencyand immediacyto what would otherwisebe a disorganised
and ramblingnarrative.The sheerlengthand detailofthenoveldemand
such a scheme, and coherence is given to the work by a number of
themesand images which occur throughoutin various guises.This es- thehouse,themiddle
say willattemptto demonstratehow threemotifs
passage, and the vegetationimage are centralto an understandingof
thenovel,and how theybuttressthemain themeofsocial frustration
and
this
that
which
we
term
personalrejection.However,
might
technique,
oftheintermittent
to A House forMr. Biswas;
image,is notidiosyncratic
it is well developed in the earliernovels,and givesa unityto the whole
output,so that what appears as direct,inconsequentialnarrativeis seen,
on closerexamination,to have an orderand logic whichwas notinitially
suspected.
II
We are introducedto the house motifat the verybeginningof the
work.The novel properis an extendedflashback,and the firstfewsentencesremindone of the openingof Nabokov's Laughter in the Dark,
for,witha cool, mercilessdetachment,bothauthorsabjure plot and narrative as sources of tensionand deliberatelydecline to invoke in the
readeran anxietyas to what happens next.This will be a novel,not of
narrative,but ofsituationand observation.
Ten weeksbeforehe died, Mr. Mohun Biswas,a journalistof Sikkim
Street,St. James,Portof Spain, was sacked.He had beenill forsometime.
In less than a year he had spentmore than nine weeksin the Colonial
Hospital and convalescedat home for even longer. . . Mr. Biswaswas
and had fourchildren.He had no money.His wifeShama had no
forty-six,
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
590
DAVID ORMEROD
money.On the house in SikkimStreetMr. Biswas owed, and had been
on this,at eight
owingforfouryears,threethousanddollars.The interest
per cent,came to twentydollarsa month; thegroundrentwas tendollars.
Two childrenwereat school.The twoolderchildren,on whomMr. Biswas
...
mighthave depended,werebothabroadon scholarships
This is the firstdramaticpoint of the Prologue (p. 7) - the melding
togetherof thethemesof thehero'sdeath withthe apparentlymundane
technicalitiesinvolved in house ownership,for these trivialitiesare at
the verycore of the protagonist'sexperience.The second step (p. 8) is
to illuminatethis, to sketch in, with great power and economy,the
whichowninga househas forMr. Biswas.
significance
And duringthesemonthsof illnessand despairhe was struckagain and
again bythewonderof beingin hisown house,theaudacityof it: to walk
in throughhis own frontgate,to bar entryto whoeverhe wished,to close
his doorsand windowseverynight,to hear no noisesexceptthoseof his
family,to wanderfreelyfromroomto roomand abouthisyard,insteadof
being condemned,as before,to retirethe momenthe got home to the
crowdedroomin one or the otherof Mrs. Tulsi's houses,crowdedwith
Shama'ssisters,
theirhusbands,theirchildren.As a boyhe had movedfrom
one house of strangers
to another;and sincehis marriagehe felthe had
lived nowherebut in the housesof the Tulsis . . . And now at the end he
foundhimselfin his own house,on his own half-lotof land,his own porforthisseemedto
tionof theearth.That he shouldhave been responsible
last
in
these
months,stupendous.
him,
Naipaul elsewhereseems to use the image of the middle passagethe slaves' journeyfromAfricato the New World- as a synonymfor
the Indians' act of indentureand forthepresent-dayemigrants'journey
to England and back again. West Indian societyis an affairof nomads
and migrants;afterthreehundredyearsthereis stillno restingplace
forits denizens,no secureculturalnormor geographicalspot to which
theycan anchor themselves.So it is with Biswas- his life has been a
pilgrimagefromone mud hut or crumblingtenementto another,just
as, in time,thewhole of West Indian societyhas been on the move. His
ambition to own a house is hence a metaphoricalexpressionfor the
desireof a whole societyto be at peace. Biswas has been cheated over
likea boat threateningat every
the house. It is scamped and jerry-built,
momentto capsize, but thisultimatelydoes not matter.The blemishes
are quicklyadjusted to, thenforgotten.Coming back fromthe void of
thehospitalintothehouse,"he had stepped. . . intoa welcomingworld,
a new, ready-madeworld.He could not quite believethathe had made
that world" (pp. 11-12). For Biswas, home is not where one starts
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Theme and Image in V. S. "Naipaul'sA House for Mr. Biswas
591
from,but thegoal forwhichone'swholebeingstrains;homeis nota
harped
placewhereyouare born,butwhereyoudie.Thisis constantly
withthe nomadicpilgrimage
whichprecedesthe attainon, together
thenovelis dividedintotwoparts,and thesecond
ment.For instance,
halfopenswitha sentencewhichkeepsbeforeoureyesthewholepanoramaofBiswas'lifeand deathin thesamewaythatthenovel'sopeningsentencedoes: "To thecityofPortofSpain,wherewithone short
breakhe was to spendtherestofhislife,and whereat SikkimStreethe
was to die fifteen
yearslater,Mr. Biswascameby accident"(p. 277).
thattheverylastwordofthenovelis chosen
The themeis so insistent
to drivehomethestructure.
Biswasis dead, and after
and positioned
returned
"thesisters
totheirrespective
hiscremation
homes,and Shama
totheemptyhouse"(p. 53 1) .
wentbackinthePrefect
and thechildren
If thehouseon SikkimStreetis,so to speak,theidealPlatonichouse,
thecontemplation
ofwhichhas beenthemainbusinessofBiswas'life,
withotherhouses,pathetic
thenthe novelis also litteredthroughout
the
Platonic
ideal.
to
imitate
There
is,forinstance,thedoll's
attempts
housewhichBiswasbuysforSavi as a Christmas
and whichcosts
present
With
its
himmorethana month's
miniature
thedoll's
wages.
perfection,
housestandsfortheprivateorderand delicacywhichBiswaswishesto
toweenherfrom
injectintohisownlife;givingitto Savi is an attempt
thevaluesoftheteemingTulsi householdand winheroverto Biswas'
viewof whatlifeshouldbe. The toycostshimmorethana month's
himwitha vast
wages,justas thehouseon SikkimStreetwillencumber
to recognize
debt.Shamaand theTulsisseemimmediately
thesymbolic
value of the doll'shouse; Mrs. Tulsi is angrybecauseshe seesit as a
discrimination
againstthe otherchildren.So, of course,it is; Biswas
to contradict
theTulsi ethoswhichgivesall thechildrenthe
attempts
and thereby
asserts
thatthereisno suchthingas individual
samepresent
ofthefamilygroupexist,in theTulsis'eyes,
The members
personality.
functions
withinthefamily.
onlyvia theiranonymous
later,
Returning
BiswasfindsthatShamahas destroyed
thedoll'shousebecauseshecannotbear theattitudeoftheothermothers
to it. The societywhichthe
willnottolerate
theimplications
Tulsisrepresent
ofBiswas'present,
and
thedestruction
ofthedoll'shouseprefigures
thedestruction
whichthe
Tulsiswillwreakupon thereal houseat Shorthills,
a buildingof elewhich
Biswas
and
refinement
loves
and whichhe
gance
immediately
seemstoseeas a typeofEden.Herenaturebloomsrichly,
for
promising
theTulsisa lifeofcharmand luxuriance.
Blowbyheartbreaking
blow,
theTulsisdesecrateEden and reduceit to a battered,
rural
degenerate
to
culslum,seeming blasphemedeliberately
againstnature,tradition,
ease
:
and
ture,
(pp. 363-368)
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
592
DAVID ORMEROD
treecutdown,theartito findthecherry
He camebackoneafternoon
filledin... Weekby
ficialmoundpartly
poolpartly
dugup,theswimming
weekthebushadvancedand theestate,fromlooking
beganto
neglected,
one
lookabandoned
. . . Govindtoredownthecricket
pavilion day.A rough
thereaderofW. C.
wentup initsplace... In lessthana morning
cowshed
Tuttlecutdownthegri-gri
palmsalongthedrive. . . Govind,asserting
unremained
thencutdowntheorangetrees. . . The plumbing
himself,
house
The
on
hillside.
the
latrine
built
a
husbands
Some
lesser
repaired.
room. . . The rubbish
becamea sewing
bythe
heapstarted
toilet,
unused,
andhigher
... It wasW. G. Tuttle
Tulsisat thefootofthehillgrewhigher
theelectricity
whodismantled
plantand melteddownthelead to make
and angerat a de. . . Mr. Biswasclosedhisheartto sorrow
dumb-bells
to
hewaspowerless prevent.
struction
thebrickflooris toppedwithmud,butthemostsignifiIn thekitchen
is undertaken
cantstepin theprocessofspoliation
pundit
bythefamily
Hari. "Hari cutdowntheJuliemangotreein theraisedbed at theend
boxboardhut;thiswas the
ofthegardenand builta small,kennel-like
of the deepestand most
the
embodiment
as
temple"(p. 363). Hari,
Tulsi
the
of
drives
feltcultural
familyand Indiansocietyin
powerfully
which
values
all the
conspireto crushBiswas.Every
general,typifies
is neutralized
his
by
patheticattemptby Biswasto assert individuality
shouldbe safeof
action
form
thatany radical
the Tulsis' insistence
In thisway,Bisat whichHari officiates.
guardedbya Hinduceremony
was can neverescapethelongarmofHinduconcern
; it is as ifHari's
and inefis reallya curse,and Hari himself,
althoughcolourless
blessing
is as potenta forceas Shivathedestroyer.
fectualas a person,
Perhapswe
toenact
is
Biswas
as
if
it
is
almost
that
couldsay,rather
trying
fancifully,
theroleofVishnu,to protectand preserve(hisnameis,afterall, Mohun,and,as thepundittoldBipti,thisis a namegiventoKrishna,whois
an avatarof Vishnu),but in thisnew mythsituationthe ingredient
but in dialecticalopposition.Biswas
forceswork,not in conjunction,
which,
cannotdefeattheTulsisand HanumanHouse,an organisation
house."
"the
as
he
derides
withexquisite
monkey
precision,
etymological
to buildforhimselfat Green
The housewhichMr. Biswasattempts
Vale failsbecauseHari has blessedit,and Biswasrealisesthefullforce
"Into Mr. Bisofthisonlywhenhisdecayingsanitygiveshiminsight.
it. Shama
blessed
'Hari
:
came
the
mind
exhausted
was3busy,
thought
and
iron
the
it.
bless
him
made
theyblessedit'
galvanized
Theygave
the
the
remembered
He
...
suitcase, whiningprayer,the sprinkling
ofthepenny.'Hari blessedit' " (pp.
the
withthemangoleaf, dropping
244-245) . Hari'sdeathleadsto theeventualbreakupoftheTulsifamand withhisdeath
oftheirpowerand unity,
issymbolic
ily; hispresence
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Theme and Image in V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas
593
can
the familydisintegrates
and the processof Biswas5emancipation
begin.
Biswas'breakdown,
withhis resultant
hoveringupon the brinkof
is
caused
frustration
of
his
the
scheme,which
insanity,
by
housebuilding
is an attemptto escapefromtheclaustrophobia
of thelabourlinesat
GreenVale and theantheapof HanumanHouse. The horrorwas almostinsupportable
evenat The Chase,and hisfearbecomescrystallized
aroundtheidea ofthefuture.If thepresentis terrible,
thenthefuture
willbe worse(p. 171) :
Andalwaysthethought,
thefearaboutthefuture.
The future
wasn't
thenextdayorthenextweekoreventhenextyear,timeswithin
thecomand therefore
without
dread.The future
he fearedcouldnot
prehension
be thought
ofinterms
oftime.It wasa blankness,
a voidlikethisindreams,
intowhich,pasttomorrow
and nextweekandnextyear,he wasfalling.
The attemptto builda houseis an attemptto finda handholdto
theprocess,
stophisslideintotheabyss,butthehousein factaccelerates
forthe ideal housecan existonlyin themind'seye,whilethe actual
houseis quitedifferent,
thestagesofitsconstruction
markedbyan incessantparingdownofthequalityofthe materials(treebranchesfor
beams,old rustygalvanizedironfornewroofing),untilhe is leftwith
thederelict
shacktypicalofTrinidadianattempts
at housebuilding.
As
therealnatureoftheundertaking
becomesapparent,Biswasis gripped
lassitude
and isincapableofdoinganything
bya terrible
exceptlieonhis
bed and rereadthe headlinesof the old newspapers
whichconstitute
hiswallpaper.The violenceofthebreakdown
is presagedbyone headlinewhichcomesto possesshimutterly,
so thathe is unableto banish
it fromhis mind: "Amazingsceneswerewitnessed
when."
yesterday
He repeatsthephrasein all company,
scribbles
it on anyblanksurface,
and takesto lettering
textsforhis walls."He who believethin me of
himI willneverloseholdand he shallneverloseholdofme" (p. 190) .
The textis ironic; Biswaswouldhave beenbetteradvisedto studythe
whichhisfriend
Misirpublishes
ina local
importofthe"puzzling"story
He becomes
newspaper.A starvingman is rescuedby a benefactor.
richand, yearslater,rescuesthe benefactor
fromdrowning,
onlyto
in theattempt.
The moralseemsto be notan apothegm
perishhimself
aboutthesanctity
ofrepaying
a debt,butthemessagethatone cannot
all
success
is illusory.
"For untoeveryone
thathathshallbe given
win;
. . ." wouldhave been a moreappropriate
textforBiswas'walls.The
describedin termsof theincreasimpending
crack-upis, significantly,
ofBiswas'environment;
he has alwaysbeenpassive,acted
inghostility
upon,and has neverbeen able to controlthe larerer
environment
of
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
594
DAVID ORMEROD
Trinidadsociety."When he closedthe door of his roomat nightit
waslikean imprisonment
. . . Butnowintheshapeandposition
ofeverythe
around
even
those
letters
the
he
made
furniture,
him,
trees,
thing
withbrushand ink,therewas an alertness,
an expectancy"(p. 205).
GreenVale closesin; themenacebecomesconcrete
whenthelabourers
killand disembowel
Biswas'dog."On thewallhe saw a nailthatcould
hiseye... At lasthe fellasleep,withhishandscovering
the
puncture
vulnerable
of
his
and
he
hands
to
himhad
cover
body,
wishing
parts
selfall over"(pp. 206-207) .
Ill
We haveseenalreadythatBiswasis muchmorethanan unsuccessful
Yet theissuehas evenmoreextensive
housebuilder.
The
ramifications.
as
an
to
an
is
into
a
translate
house,
artifact, attempt
concrete,
tangible
formthecreativeimpulsewhosefrustration
is one ofthemajoraspects
of Biswas'personality.
Naipaul's earlierworkshouldprepareus for
the thesisthatmuchof Biswas'predicament
of theinis a reflection
of
to
come
to
the
artist
terms
with
his
own
and
ability
society, perhaps
we can discoverthisthemeat the veryoutsetof Naipaul's career.In
MiguelStreet(London,1959), Naipaul wrote(p. 63),
We walkedalongthesea-wallat Docksiteone day,and I said,"Mr.
ifI dropthispinin thewater,do youthinkitwillfloat?"
Wordsworth,
He said,"Thisis a strange
world.Drop yourpin,and letus see what
willhappen."
The pinsank.
I said,"Howisthepoemthismonth?"
In thechildlike
storyofthelifeand deathofthefailedpoetB. Wordsan imagewhichthereadermightwelltake
constructs
worth,Naipaul
as a WestIndian
of bothNaipaul'sown predicament
ausemblematic
of Biswas.The narrator,as a boy,
novelistand of the predicament
who tells
meetsthe itinerant
NegropoetB. (forBlack) Wordsworth,
ofthegreatest
theboythathe is engagedon thecomposition
poemin
the world,to whichhe adds one line a month,in thehope thatthis
of a wholemonth'sexperience.
We are
one linewillbe thedistillation
the
"The
is
the
told
one
line
bathetic,
past deep." Dying, poet
only
saysthatthe poemis not goingwell: the poem thathe assertshe is
composingis in facthis own life.He also tellsthe boy,elliptically,
- a storyof a dead wife
the reasonforhis isolationand loneliness
on
his
death
child.Yet,
and a still-born
bed, he deniesthevalidityof
which
his
he has cherished life;thereis no poem,and
thetwomyths
by
to thepoet'scottagea yearlater,the
therewas no girl-wife.
Returning
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Theme and Image in V. S. NaipauVsA House for Mr. Biswas
595
boy findsthatit has disappearedand has been replacedby an office
block.
The storyis in manywaystriteand sentimental,
yettheparadoxes
of
the
of
us
an
life
of Black Wordsworth's give
predicament
epitome
to
live
the
Wordsworth
tries
theartistin a colonialsociety.Black
pathe
ternsestablished
forhimby hisbrotherW. (White) Wordsworth;
takesrefugein the role of aesthetic
bees and flowers,
contemplates
recluse.The past is a burdenwhichcrippleshim. He triesto deny
is
itspower,and thefewwordshe producesare clichés.His function
the
creative
a
in
however
to
to
exist,
way
embody
inadequate
simply
This short
drivein a societywhichprovidesno outletforcreativity.
at
its
is
of
B.
Wordsworth
with
the
centre,
NaipauPs
story,
lonelyfigure
draftof an imagewhichis laterto becomean obsession
firsttentative
withhim.MiguelStreetwas thethirdof NaipauPsworksto be pubwithDavid
lished,but the firstto be written(v. NaipauPsinterview
in
and
B.
London
26
Wordsworth,
Bates,
SundayTimes, May 1963),
we
withhis undirectedaestheticleaningsand frustrated
creativity,
of GaneshRamsumairof The MysticMasseur
can see theprogenitor
inthehotand dustyvillageofFuenteGrove,
(London,1957), stranded
surrounded
books
by
(mostlyunread) whichhe valuesfortheirfootnotebooks
innumerable
and neverfinishing
them.In Naiage,starting
pauPstravelbook,The MiddlePassage (London,1962), this"derelict
man in a derelictland" (p. 190) becomesan almostexplicitembodiwhenNaipaul relateshisencounter
mentoftheWestIndianexperience,
withsuch a man in Surinam,seeingin him the image of a society
whosemembers
are abductedfromAfricaor dupedintoquitting
India,
Hence,"The past
onlytobe abandonedin thealiencolonialwilderness.
is deep,"for"nothing
was createdin theBritish
WestIndies,no civilizationas in SpanishAmerica,no greatrevolution
as in Haiti or the
Americancolonies. . . The history
oftheislandscan neverbe satisfacis not the onlydifficulty.
torilytold.Brutality
Historyis builtaround
achievement
and creation;and nothingwas createdin the WestIndies" (The MiddlePassage,p. 29) . The pinwhichB. Wordsworth
tells
theboyto dropintotheharboursinksimmediately,
the
despite poet's
assurancethatwe live in a strangeworld,just as all Mr. Biswas'athimseem
temptsto findromancein thesterilesocietythatsurrounds
to founder.
to
of
the
house
the
dead
the
Returning
poet, boyfindsthat
his belovedtreeshave been cut down,"and therewas brickand conIt was as if B. Wordsworth
creteeverywhere.
had neverexisted"(p.
65) , justas Mr. Biswasreturns
to thevillagewherehe was bornto find
thatit has disappeared,
fortheland was richin oil and is now a jrar-
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
596
DAVID ORMEROD
den suburb:"The worldcarriedno witnessto Mr. Biswas'birthand
deniesall theindividearlyyears"(p. 38). The worldcontemptuously
ual's attempts
to asserthisdignity
and difference,
and Naipaul'smajor
novelnarratestheattempts
of an individualto fightback againstthis
cosmicdenialofhisveryesistence.
How dreadful,
then,"to have lived
withoutevenattempting
to lay claimto one'sportionof theearth;to
have livedand died as one had beenborn,unnecessary
and unaccommodated"(p. 13). Naipaul himself
is evidently
conscious
of the
very
of
this
theme
in
his
In
David
the
interview
with
work.
importance
influence
exertedon
Bates,citedearlier,he saysthatthemainliterary
him so farhas been thatof his father,for"otherwritersare aware
thattheyare writing
aboutrootedsocieties;hisworkshowedme that
- the rootless,
one could writeabout anotherkindof society"
impermanentworldwhosefluxand mutability
Mr. Biswastriesto defy.Or,
as anothercriticremarks,
"The bookis about MohunBiswas'willto
makea dentin theworld,to leave behindhimsomething
of valuein his case,a house.It is also abouthiseffort
and struggle
to givehis
own lifesomeshape and purposeand meaning,in a situationwhich,
fromthefirst,
renders
himalmostpowerless
to do so."1
It is perhapssignificant
thatthecrisisofthebreakdown
is prompted
by an unusualmomentof insighton Biswas'part,an insightnotonly
intohisown situation
but intothewholeWestIndianpredicament
thepredicament
of a nomadicsociety,
a wandererin space and time,
whichcan findno anchorage.It is oftenthepredicament
oftheartist,
but seemsnecessarily
the predicament
of the frustrated
West Indian
artist,whetherhe is B. Wordsworth,
producingone passionateplatitudea month,or Mr. Biswas,whoworked"moreand moreelaborate
forhiswallswitha steady,unthinking
messagesof comfort
hand,and
a mindin turmoil"(p. 259). Biswasnow seesthesignificance
of his
own nomadiclife,forhe feelsthatfortoo longhe has regardedeach
He therefore
decidesnotto plan forany
stagein hislifeas temporary.
but
to
savour
the
richness
of each passingaction.
future,
hypothetical
He deliberately
startsto read and relisha novel,buthismentalimage
of himself
as a civilizedmaninhabiting
a clearingin thejungleofthe
world'sbarbarity
to theimageof a man trappedin a billowing
shifts
blackcloud,thevoid intowhichhe at last tumbles.It seemsto him,
suddenlyand too late,thatall hislifehas beenhappy,butthathe has
so thatnow he is swampedby
alwaysdeniedhis own contentment,
"grieffora happylifeneverenjoyedand nowlost. . . [He] forcedhimselftocryforall hislosthappiness"(pp. 241-242) .
1 Bernard Krikler,"The Novel
Today: V. S. Naipaul's 'A House for Mr.
Biswas',"The Listener,13 February1964,p. 270.
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Theme and Image in V. S. NaipauVsA House for Mr. Biswas
597
And so, the crisiscomes with the violence of the stormwhich blows
down the ramshackleframe of the abortive house, and Biswas, like
Lear, choosesto quit the safetyof the labour lines and sit in the windswept wreckage until, like Lear again, he becomes the basic "unaccommodated man" whom Naipaul describes in the Prologue"unnecessaryand unaccommodated."During thestormmyriadsof ants
appear and Anand triesto massacrethem,but theymounthis stickand
bite his arm. "He was suddenlyterrified
of them,theiranger,theirvindictiveness,theirnumber" (p. 262), as if theystood forthe teeming
massesof Hanuman House who cannotbe defied.And, indeed,thelittle
creaturesseem to exultin Biswas' destructionwithas greata relishas do
theTulsis:
... therainand windsweptthroughtheroomwithunnecessary
strength
and forcedopen the door of the drawingroom,wall-less,floor-less,
of the
house Mr. Biswashad built. . . lightning
steelblue
flashedintermittently,
continually
explodingintowhite,showedtheantscontinually
disarranged,
reforming,
(p. 263)
His recuperationat Hanuman House is a period when the entireenof The Chase, Green Vale, the whole of the Trinidad ethos,
vironment,
can be mercifullyheld in suspense,for "surrenderhad removed the
world of damp walls and papercoveredwalls, of hot sun and driving
rain, and had broughthim this: thiswordlessroom,thisnothingness"
(p. 269). Curled like a foetusin the darkness,he awaits rebirth,a rebirthto a new life,fromthe countrysideand communalismof the first
part of the novel to the town and individualismof the second, an environmentin whichtheold Hanuman House organismgraduallybreaks
up, leaving only individuals.The last sentenceof the firsthalf harks
back to thetitleof the firstchapter- "Pastoral"- and the whitewashed
palm trees outside Hanuman House are like the mudcaked legs of
Pratap and Prasad as boys,freshfromthe burlalo pond. A grimpastoral,forthe lush elegance of Arcadia is farfromthe sunbaked mud of
Trinidad.
Misir'sstoryhad raisedthe issueof the paradoxical natureof success.
Biswas' lifein Portof Spain is an extendedparadox whose outcomeit is
impossibleto resolvein neat terms.Biswas is a brahmin,living in a
squalid tenementand reportingon the luxuriouslives of others.Yet, in
a sense, Biswas does triumph,and his triumph,like Lear's, is not expressiblein conventionalterms.If Lear reallydoes believethat Cordelia
is alive at the end of the play, and ifthe selfishold man who would not
wait a jot fordinnerdies froman excess of pure joy at another'sgood
fortune,thentheagonyon theheath- Biswas' "greatanguish"at Green
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
59&
DAVID ORMEROD
Vale - has all been worthit. AlthoughBiswas neverattainstheeventual
materialsuccessof manyof theothercharactersofthenovel,thereis yet
a sensein whichthehouseon SikkimStreetis a rewardwhichvastlyoutweighstheirsuccess,a rewardforbeing trueto himselfand his vision.
This visionhas been constantlywithhim,and because he is emblematic
of the frustrated
artist,the inabilityto realisethe visionof the house is
the
inabilityto realisehisothercreativedrivesand to build
paralleledby
a privateworld of art and romance.Biswas' attitudeto his motheris a
within
case in point,forhe triesto resolvethe tensionsand uncertainties
In
this
the relationshipby sublimatingit intoa literaryexperience.
way,
he seems to hope, he will give significanceto a relationshipwhich,he
feels,shamefullylacks it. Expelled fromPundit Jairam's as a boy, he
consoleshimselfon the long trudgehome by elaboratinga fantasywelcome of love and sympathywhich Bipti will lavish on him. His return
but anger (pp. 52-53 ) :
elicits,notsympathy,
and protecThen herragespentitselfand she becameas understanding
tiveas he had hoped she wouldhave been rightat thestart.But it was not
sweetnow ... He did notsee at thetimehow absurdand touchingherbehaviourwas: welcominghimback to a hut thatdidn'tbelongto her,givinghimfoodthatwasn'thers.But thememoryremained,and nearlythirty
yearslater,when he was a memberof a small literarygroup in Port of
Spain,he wroteand read outa simplepoemin blankverseaboutthismeetwas ignored,
all theunpleasantness
his surliness,
ing. The disappointment,
the
the
to
:
the
and thecircumstances
welcome,
journey,
improved allegory
food,theshelter.
His feelingsdo not flowintothe patternhe anticipatesforthem,and
thisleads to a blockagein his patheticcreativedriveswhichhe is unable
to resolve,just as B. Wordsworth'slife-as-poemgoes frombad to worse,
findingonlysporadic utterancesin platitudesabout the past and vain
hopes thathe livesin a marvellousworldwherepinsmay floaton water.
Bipti's death, the death of "the motherwho had remained unknown
and whom he had neverloved" (p. 436 ) , promptshim to writea prose
poem of love for her. Reading it to a literarygroup, he weeps and is
ashamed of himself.His firstreal job, thatofsignpainter,is a timidsubas the journalist'sjob will be, whileany
limationof hisliteraryinstincts,
his
own
on
comment
predicamentcannot progressfurtherthan the esof
the
unfinished
storyabout a fragileand barrenheroine.
cape fantasy
of
The
Ramsumair
MysticMasseur can neverfilla noteJustas Ganesh
book because he is sidetrackedby the dead-end aestheticismof his apofthebookshe attemptsto read
preciationof thepaper and typography
and assimilate,so Biswas' involvementwithpaintingends withhis pas-
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Theme and Image in V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas
599
sionatelovefortheletters
R and S, and thesubjectmatterand fateof
hisdaubingsare a dispirited
on thechaosarousedin hismind
comment
"Mr.
Biswasworkedlateintothe
a
without
norms:
cultural
by society
berriesand snow-capped
and
Santa
Clauses
and
holly
nightdoing
in
theblazingsun" (p. 70).
the
finished
blistered
letters;
signsquickly
DecoratLeftto hisownpainterly
is no different.
the
situation
devices,
ofthe
"not
walls
he
the
of
the
at
The
Chase, paintslandscapes,
ing
shop
bushat theback,thehuts
abandonedfieldnexttotheshop,theintricate
oftheCentralRange
ortreesacrosstheroad,orthelowbluemountains
in thedistance.He paintedcool,orderedforest
scenes,withgracefully
the floors
curvinggrass,cultivatedtreesringedwithfriendly
serpents,
jungle
mosquito-infested
brightwithperfectflowers;not the rotting,
he couldfindwithinan hour'swalk" (p. 164) . As a boy,he had lovedto
read descriptions
ofbad weatherin foreign
countries;one recallsNaibulletins
references
the
weather
to
which,he nopaul's contemptuous
whenhe
broadcasts
Trinidad's
were
a
constant
feature
of
Radio
ticed,
forhisfact-finding
this
returned
"as
tour, though [theweather]was at
"
liable
to
moment
any
change (The MiddlePassage,p. 50) .
spectacular
as
Biswas'inability
to keephiseyeon thesituation
beforehim,whether
stranded
role
as
or
of
his
of
painter writer,is, course,symptomatic
alien culturehe has been
colonialartist,isolatedfromthe irrelevant
daffoto
admire
as
the
viable
as
one,just themuch-derided
taught
only
and
of
the
is
the
motif
misguided
approdils-in-the-tropics
undoing
and artistic
Butall theseersatzliterary
namedB. Wordsworth.
priately
criteria
serveas periphrases
forhisgreat,overwhelming
need,whichis
to injectintohislifean elementofmagic,ofromance.The descriptions
of foreignlandscapeand weather"made him despairof findingromancein hisown dull greenland whichthesun scorchedeveryday"
and exciting
as anynovel(pp. 70-71) . SamuelSmilesis "as romantic
ist."So, "he had begunto wait,notonlyforlove,butfortheworldto
and romance.He deferred
all hispleasurein lifeuntil
yielditssweetness
thatday" (p. 73). It is precisely
these
forthemagical
through
longings
thathe is easilytrappedintomarriage
withShamabytheTulsis,and it
is themarriage
whichkillshischanceofattaining
escapeand romance.
His weaknessover the marriagereallyspringsfromhis desirefora
he willescapehovels,yetthemarriage
house;withShama,he thinks,
meansthathe is firmly
committed
to denyingromanceand givingup
hischanceofa house.Marriagemeans,notloveand fulfilment,
butthe
embraceof theTulsis,whereone's veryname is forgotten.
Hence the
absencein thenovelofanyextendedtreatment
ofthethemeofsexual
it
is
subsumed
or
sublimated
the
lustto owna
love;
into, consuming
by,
of
which
is
the
all
that
is
house,
desirable,
epitome
magical,mysterious,
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
600
DAVID ORMEROD
thatis desirableis,bydefiFor everything
and, he fears,unattainable.
in
time
as
well
as
in
and
distant,
nition,
space- thedead Frenchowners
thepouisticks,
consecrate
ofShorthills,
thedead Spaniardswhosespirits
as dead,and asofall writers
and thefactthat"Mr. Biswashad thought
ofbooksnotonlywithdistantlands,butwith
sociatedtheproduction
him
at salvationenmeshes
distantages" (pp. 294-295). Everyattempt
the
it
but
is
whichmostterrifies
moredeeplyin theenvironment
him,
misof
his
the
has
been
which
subsequent
really
mainspring
marriage
ery: "... he wouldbe losingromanceforever,sincetherecould be
no romanceat HanumanHouse" (p. 84). This he is preparedto renounce,forhe seesthehovelsof theverypoortwicea day,"but that
whichuntil
time.Fromsuchfailure,
eveninghe sawthemas forthefirst
madehimself
had awaitedhim,he had byonestroke
onlythatmorning
withfate,he has lost
exempt."But he has not; seekingto horse-trade
a momentary
bothhouseand romance.The cityofPortofSpainoffers
and heldan
had
been
new
time
the
to
this
release:
of
city
"Up
hope
o'clock
sun
could
two
deadest
which
even
the
not
destroy.
expectation
would
be rebe
he
could
...
the
could
undone,
past
happen
Anything
made. . ." Butthecityis a cheattoo,for"thecitywas no morethana
theflies
of this: thisdark,dingycafe,thechippedcounter,
repetition
in
stacked
a
cases
Coca
Cola
the
thickon theelectric
corner,
flex, empty
the crackedglass case, the shopkeeper
pickinghis teeth,waitingto
close"(p. 341).
IV
a moodofquietbutnonethelessfirm
So farthenovelhas conveyed
despair.Butitends,noton a noteofgloom,butalmostofexhilaration.
Thesebonescan live,and lifeand vindication
come,paradoxically,
only
theagencyofa character
at themoment
ofBiswas'death,and through
- Biswas'daughter
Savi.
beenshadowyand ill-defined
whohas hitherto
wouldbe casualand
ofthisregeneration
ofthetreatment
The brevity
and
ofthelastchapter,
offhand
wereitnotforthepowerand pungency
for
its
the
fora recurrent
which,
novel,
prepares
throughout
symbolism
success.
and tenderness
of B.
One ofthedevicesbywhichtheindividualism
involves
the
reader's
attention
fixed
in
the
is
Wordsworth's
personality
the
first
He
of
his
luxuriant
boy's
companionacquires
garden.
foliage
fromhisgarden,a gardenwhosevegetation
himfruit
shipbypromising
setsthepoetapartfromtheundifferentiated
citydwelleis."The yard
seemedall green.Therewas thebig mangotree.Therewas a coconut
treeand therewas a palm tree.The place lookedwild,as thoughit
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Theme and Image in V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas
6oi
wasn't in the cityat all. You couldn't see all the big concretehouses in
thestreet"(p. 59) . The treesembodythe lifethatburgeonsin thepoet,
and whentheboy returnsto thehouse a yearlater,the poet'sdestruction
is paralleledbythefateofhistrees- 'The mango treeand theplumtree
and the coconut tree had all been cut down, and therewas brickand
concreteeverywhere.It was as though B. Wordsworthhad never existed" (p. 65 ) . The poet has failedto leave a markof his presencein the
world,just as Biswas would have failed but forthe finalacquisitionof
the house. As Biswas' lifeis a storyof the battle against his hostileenso the changesin his fortunesare markedby the stateof the
vironment,
vegetationwhich surroundshim. At Green Vale, forinstance,the environmentis symbolic(p. 185) :
Wheneverafterwards
Mr. Biswasthoughtof GreenVale he thoughtof
the trees.They were tall and straight,and so hung with long,drooping
leaves thattheirtrunkswerehiddenand appeared to be branchless.Half
the leaves weredead; the others,at the top,werea dead green.It was as
if all thetreeshad, at thesame moment,been blightedin luxuriance,and
death was spreadingat the same pace fromall the roots.But death was
foreverheld in check.The tongue-like
leaves of dark greenturnedslowly
to thebrightest
yellow,becamebrownand thinas ifscorched,curleddownwards,over the otherdead leaves,and did not fall. And the new leaves
to them;theycame
came, as sharpas daggers;but therewas no freshness
into the worldold, withouta shine,and onlygrewlongerbeforetheytoo
died.
Here, evidently,is a commenton Biswas' life; the death-in-life
appearance ofthetreesis a parallelto hisown existence,and as theleaves came
into the world old, so did Biswas, who bore the title"Mr." even as a
new-bornchild- "Some timelatertheywere awakened by the screams
of Mr. Biswas" (p. 15 ). The new leaves withouta shinerecallthescrofulous infant,Biswas,"dustyand muddyand unwashed . . . witheczema
and soresthatswelled and burstand scabbed and burstagain . . ." (p.
21 ). Images of blightedgrowthand desiccatedvegetationalso markthe
period of the stay in the Tulsi house in Port of Spain; the rose trees
Biswas attemptsto tend,like the treesat Green Vale, mirrorhis condition: "A blightmade theirstemswhite,and gave themsickly,ill-formed
leaves. The buds opened slowly to reveal blanched, tatteredblooms
coveredwithminuteinsects. . ." (p. 340), theinsectsperhapsstanding
for the teeminglife which is surroundingBiswas in the overcrowded
house. Eventually,Biswas himself,dyingslowlyfroma heartdisease,recalls the blightedtrees,poisonedfromwithin,for"his complexiongrew
dark: not the darknessof a naturallydark skin,not the darknessof sunburn; thiswas a darknessthat seemed to come fromwithin,as though
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
6o 2
DAVID ORMEROD
the skin was a murkybut transparentfilmand the fleshbelow it had
been bruised and become diseased and its corruptionwas rising" (p.
529).
So the finaltriumph,the acquisitionof the house, seemsshort-lived,
as Biswas dies slowly,petulant and querulous, estrangedfromhis son
Anand, whosecomprehensionand love is the thinghe needs mostin the
world.But (p. 530)
. . . rightat theend everything
seemedto growbright.Savi returnedand
Mr. Biswaswelcomedheras thoughshewereherselfand Anandcombined.
Savi gota job, at a biggersalarythanMr. Biswascould everhave got; and
so neatlythatSavi begantoworkas Mr. Biswas
eventsorganizedthemselves
ceased to be paid. Mr. Biswaswroteto Anand: "How can you notbelieve
in God afterthis?"It was a letterfullof delights.He was enjoyingSavi's
company;she had learnedto driveand theywenton littleexcursions;it
was wonderfulhow intelligentshe had grown.He had got a Butterfly
orchid.The shade was flowering
again; wasn'tit strangethata treewhich
withsucha sweetscent?
flowers
so
could
produce
grew quickly
For the treewhich eventuallygrowstrue and straight,and produces
fragrantflowers,is Savi herself,and it is herunexpectedblossomingthat
crownsBiswas' lifewithsuccess.Biswas dies, but the house he has provided for his childrenis like a garden in which they can grow and
flourish,and the measureof his triumphis thatthisbowerbecomes,for
them,ordinary,and all the formerhaltingplaces recede into the memory,to returnonly in the futureunder the passingstimulusof an apparentlyunrelated incidentor impression."A fragmentof forgotten
experiencewould be dislodged,isolated,puzzling . . . When the memorieshad lost the power to hurt,with pain or joy, theywould fall into
place and give back the past" (pp. 523-524). So, Mr. Biswas transcends the limitationsof time and space- his apparentlycrushingen- and livesbeyonddeathin themindsofAnand and Savi.
vironment
ofMalaya
University
Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia
This content downloaded from 146.230.128.242 on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 02:04:58 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions