Feelings of Love and Loss in R. K. Narayan’s The English Teacher

Abstract

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanswami, popularly known as R. K. Narayan (1906-2001), was an Indian writer and novelist best known for his work set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He was the leading writer in early Indian English literature. Narayan’s The English Teacher is a famous novel for its simplicity and autobiographical elements. The English Teacher gives a glimpse into India's education system during the 1940s. The novel was written in 1945 and was renamed as Grateful to Life and Death in 1953. The novel's title is appropriate because Krishna, the main protagonist, learns to make sense of death as the novel progresses. The story draws from Narayan's personal experience of grief when he lost his wife due to typhoid in the year 1939. It is the self-expression of grief, loss, as well as love for his wife. This novel is highly autobiographical, as Narayan depicts his sorrow after the loss of his wife. Most of the authors' suffering has gone into making this novel.