The Housewife by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
"The Housewife" by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is a poignant short story that delves into the complexities of artistic ambition within the confines of domestic life. The narrative centers on Shakuntala, a devoted housewife who, after twenty-five years of marital devotion, embarks on a journey of self-discovery through music. As she begins taking singing lessons, her passion for music blossoms, overshadowing her previous commitments to her husband, daughter, and grandchild. This newfound artistic pursuit brings about emotional highs and lows, intricately tied to her relationship with her music teacher, who becomes both an inspiring figure and a source of tension in her life.
Jhabvala skillfully portrays the struggle of women artists to reconcile their creative aspirations with societal expectations, highlighting the challenges of balancing family duties with personal fulfillment. The story explores themes of love, infidelity, and the allure of artistic devotion, questioning the price of pursuing one's passion. As Shakuntala navigates her feelings for her teacher and her commitment to her family, the reader is left to ponder the sacrifices and transformations that accompany the pursuit of art. Ultimately, "The Housewife" presents a nuanced reflection on the intersection of everyday responsibilities and the yearning for artistic expression.
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The Housewife by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1971 (collected in An Experience of India, 1971)
Type of work: Short story
The Work
“The Housewife,” one of Jhabvala’s best-known short stories, was first published in An Experience of India. It is a moving exploration of the theme of artistic commitment, discreetly embedded in a domestic drama of marital infidelity. Shakuntala, after being a loving and faithful wife for twenty-five years, begins to take singing lessons and quickly discovers that her music becomes the most important thing in her world. While she has, till now, divided her tranquil affections among her husband, daughter, and grandchild, suddenly her life seems to revolve wholly around her lessons, her practice hour each morning, the appearances or absences of her teacher, and his varied responses to her progress.
Shakuntala’s volatile moods are determined by her passion for her music, and her passion is embodied in the guru figure of her music teacher. Jhabvala subtly maps the ups and downs, the triumphs and disappointments of the creative experience. By placing the dilemma in the midst of the ordinary middle-class life of a contented housewife, she particularly raises the question of how a woman is supposed to balance her social commitments in running a household with an overwhelming creative urge. For the woman artist, the practice of her art is to be fitted with difficulty into her everyday life, and its demands test her loyalties by competing with her concern for her family.
In Shakuntala’s case, the difficulty is compounded by the fact that her music is identified with her music teacher. The fascination of her art is complicated by the fascinations of love. The music teacher, talented, moody, and arrogant, embodies a threat to domestic order and a glimpse into the mysterious world of a life wholly devoted to art and pleasure. She revels in his appreciation of her singing and her money and his intermittent spells of indifference drive her to rashness. When he consistently fails to show up for her lessons, she seeks him out and follows him to his house, where he wastes no time in consummating their tension-filled relationship. Sexual intimacy appears to rouse Shakuntala to a state of telepathic awareness of her teacher and her art. Jhabvala ends her story with an ambiguous question that focuses on the dynamics between ordinary commitments to daily activities and the extraordinary passion for a higher art: “There was no going back from here, she knew. But who would want to go back, who would exchange this blessed state for any other?”
Bibliography
Bhan, Pankaj. Ruth Jhabvala’s India: Image of India in the Fiction of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Delhi, India: B. R., 2005.
Chakravarti, Aruna. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: A Study in Empathy and Exile. Delhi, India: B. R., 1998.
Crane, Ralph J. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. New York: Twayne, 1992.
Crane, Ralph J., ed. Passages to Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. New York: Sterling, 1991.
Gooneratne, Yasmine. Silence, Exile, and Cunning: The Fiction of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. New Delhi, India: Orient Longman, 1983.
Jha, Rekha. The Novels of Kamala Markandaya and Ruth Jhabvala. New Delhi, India: Prestige Books, 1990.
Shahane, V. A. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. New Delhi, India: Arnold-Heinemann, 1976.
Sinha, Sunand Kumar. The Fiction of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: A Feminist Perspective. New Delhi, India: Radha, 2004.
Sucher, Laurie. The Fiction of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: The Politics of Passion. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989.