A Devoted Son by Anita Desai
"A Devoted Son" by Anita Desai is a poignant short story that explores the complexities of a father-son relationship within a traditional Hindu family. Set in a realistic context, the narrative centers on Rakesh, an accomplished son who embodies devotion to his aging parents. After achieving professional success as a doctor in the United States, Rakesh returns to India, marries a village girl as per his parents' wishes, and eventually becomes a respected and wealthy physician.
However, the relationship takes a turn when Rakesh's father begins to experience health issues, leading Rakesh to impose strict dietary restrictions and medical regimes on his father. The father's resistance and feelings of deprivation highlight the tension between filial duty and personal autonomy. The story delves into themes of love, care, and the psychological impact of traditional expectations, raising questions about the limits of devotion. As the father rebels against his son's authoritarian approach to care, readers are invited to reflect on the irony embedded in the title and the broader implications of parental respect and control in familial dynamics. This nuanced portrayal offers a rich exploration of generational conflict and cultural values.
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A Devoted Son by Anita Desai
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1978 (collected in Games at Twilight, and Other Stories, 1978)
Type of work: Short story
The Work
“A Devoted Son” appears in Desai’s acclaimed collection of short stories, Games at Twilight, and Other Stories. Unlike her earlier novels in which female characters dominate the texts, this story is about male characters. Focusing on a father-son relationship in a traditional Hindu family, the story looks at the problem of old age from two different angles. The setting of the story is realistic. Developed with a sense of humor, the story presents a fine study in human psychology and love.
The title of the story refers to Rakesh, who is always reverential to his parents, touching their feet in devotion. A brilliant student, after getting his M.D. in India he goes to the United States on a scholarship and pursues his career in a most prestigious hospital, winning the admiration of his American colleagues. His love and devotion to his aging parents compel him to return to India, get married to an uneducated village girl in deference to his parents’ wishes, start working in a city hospital, rise to the position of a director, and finally set up his own clinic and come to be recognized as the best and the richest doctor in town. People can hardly believe that a man born to illiterate parents could rise to such heights of glory and yet remain devoted to them.
The conflict between the father and the son begins when, after his retirement and the death of his wife, the old man frequently falls ill with mysterious diseases that even his physician son cannot diagnose. Worried about his father’s health, the son begins to supervise his father’s diet. All the mouth-watering sweets, fried savory snacks, and rich meals are forbidden. Instead he is forced to eat boiled foods and take numerous kinds of pills, powders, medicines, and tonics. The old man is shocked with disbelief at his son’s tyrannical attitude, for who could ever imagine “a son who actually refused his father the food he craved?” He feels starved and complains to his neighboring friend of his son’s attitude, but nobody believes him.
In the last scene, when his son brings him a new tonic to make him feel better, the father reproachfully smashes the tonic bottle on the floor and expresses his wish to be left alone to die. The father’s final act of rebellion makes the reader wonder whether the son’s almost tyrannical control of his father’s life is justified in the name of filial devotion. Viewed in this light, the title of the story becomes ironic.
Bibliography
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