Dr. Lata Marina | Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam (original) (raw)

Papers by Dr. Lata Marina

Journal of Arts, IIS University, 2023

W.H. Auden's "Musée des Beaux Arts" and U.A Fanthrope's "Not My Best Side" are two noteworthy poe... more W.H. Auden's "Musée des Beaux Arts" and U.A Fanthrope's "Not My Best Side" are two noteworthy poems in twentieth-century English literature. W.H. Auden rose to prominence as an Anglo-American poet, dramatist, and literary critic. Through his works, he addressed morality, religion, love, and socio-political aspects. After spending a vacation in Brussels, Belgium, he wrote the poem "Musée des Beaux Arts", published in 1939. U.A Fanthrope was an English poet who wrote her poems focusing primarily on modernity and social themes. The majority of her works reflect the true essence of English life. Her most famous poem, "Not My Best Side," was published in 1978. The most striking resemblance between these two poems is that they are both ekphrastic poems that discuss the theme of indifference. Visual and literary art have had a harmonious relationship through the ages, and 'Ekphrastic' refers to the act of deriving inspiration for poetry from any literary manifestation of art. As the name implies, ekphrastic poetry describes a particular scene or, more specifically, a piece of art. A poet can augment and deepen the significance of a painting or sculpture through his creative and narrative capabilities by addressing the "action" within it. This article aims to compare and contrast these two poems by focusing attention on the theme of indifference as depicted in them.

SINGULARITIES, Vol. 9, Issue 2, 2022

Nothing gains greater currency in Modern India than hate. Now, it is almost fashionable to be a b... more Nothing gains greater currency in Modern India than hate. Now, it is almost fashionable to be a bigot and fundamentalist and there is not much that separates mad fanaticism from vicious communalism. In India, the 'New Normal' is blatant bigotry, bare-faced communalism, and publicly-aired prejudices, all of which are considered perfectly all right. The new age social media are harnessed to inject hatred and bigoted communalism into Indian society for political gains. Power politics and hatemongering in the name of religion have sown seeds of instability and violence through the constant barrage of communal statements and virulent speeches made by politicians, on social media, and through mainstream channels. This has, over the years, created fertile ground for planting falsehood and hatred into people's minds and are the incitements that fuel communal violence to undermine tolerance and democracy. And with each new mob lynching, it seems history is repeating itself. Such horrific incidents have not only spread anxiety and fear amongst people, especially among the minorities, it has also inspired the once fringe groups to commit crimes with impunity, as they did during the Partition. As newly kindled flames of communal violence begin to flare across India, communal fault lines that existed in the subcontinent for ages, and deepened irrevocably during the bloody partition of India in 1947, is now turning India's unemployed and undereducated youths, particularly those susceptible to the monster of communal polarisation unleashed through expansive propaganda machinery and increasingly divisive politics, into its foot soldiers to spread politics of hatred.
It is against this background I read Bhisham Sahni's novel Tamas, one of the most thought-provoking and powerful novels written about the unspeakable horrors of Partition. Although Tamas, like any other partition novel, highlights the violence inherent in human nature to inflict atrocities through planned genocide, gang rape of women, forcible conversion, displacement, and loss, it is also a survivor's witness account of how
religion or religiosity becomes a dehumanizing force during the partition. The novel is not only about the politics of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) or the Muslim League or Akali Dal or even about the Indian National Congress or the Communist party. It is about the vulnerability of human nature to hate.
What concerns me most as an educator and parent is the way in which young children and teenagers are turned into zealotic bigots trained to hate and even kill another human being without remorse or compunction. Such 'educational training' as depicted in the novel, is highly dangerous for
society at large, especially in the volatile times in which we live when secular values are threatened and debunked on a daily basis by divisive power politics.

Keywords: Partition, Hate, Fanaticism, Tamas (Novel), Children and Youths

People are acutely responsive to how others perceive, evaluate, and feel about them. The handprin... more People are acutely responsive to how others perceive, evaluate, and feel about them. The handprint drawings on Cave walls to the latest smartphone self-portraits or ‘Selfie’ clearly demonstrate people’s obsession for a pictorial representation of the self. We live in a world where hedonistic materialism and instant gratification have seeped deep into our culture and psyche. The great malady of the twentieth century implicated in all of our troubles and affecting us individually and socially, is ‘loss of soul’, and loss of meaning. But deep inside the core of every person, soul selfies exist. No society in human history has successfully maintained moral life without the aid of religion. Soul selfies are the religious lens through which we look at our lives. In a postmodern world there are no universal religious or ethical laws, everything is shaped by the cultural context of a particular time and place and community. Most often rejecting reason and science, New Age religion or New Ag...

It is a widely held view that great writers have something to say about the important ethical iss... more It is a widely held view that great writers have something to say about the important ethical issues confronting their age. This paper is an attempt to explore how ethics gets defined in Victorian and Contemporary times as far as the ̳morality‘ of a woman is concerned and how Thomas Hardy and John Fowles dealt with it in their respective novels-Tess of D’Urbervilles and The French Lieutenant’s Woman.

VIRTUOSO-a Refereed Transnational Bi-Annual Journal of Language and Literature

Nowadays many people are interested in other cultures. When people think of Culture, they often t... more Nowadays many people are interested in other cultures. When people think of Culture, they often think of artifacts such as food, clothing, music, art, or literature. There are many different ways to understand other cultures and language is the best introduction to a new culture. But language learning process can be quite dry and boring, if there are no cultural references. The best way to understand and admire cultural differences is over food. The nexus between food and culture provides an alternate way of learning a language. Postmodern culture has been greatly influenced by food images and the usage of food as metaphor. Recent interest in food studies has opened doors in literary studies to examine how the use of food imagery and metaphor represents complex ideas and deeper meaning in literature. Literary food studies analyze food symbolism to reflect on cultural identity which includes various issues from social position to sexual desire to gender relations. The aim of this paper is to critically examine Anita Nair’s novel Alphabet Soup for Lovers where food plays the central metaphor on which hinges the whole narrative. The story is partially narrated by the Tamil cook who is learning the English alphabets. She uses various ingredients to learn the alphabets and consequently leaves the readers with very valuable life lessons with each alphabet she learns and at the same time offers glimpses of Indian cuisine and Indian gastronomic culture.
Keywords: Indian culture, Indian English language, food, Anita Nair’s Alphabet Soup for Lovers

The sea has mesmerized, enticed, and challenged humanity throughout its history. Endowed with hum... more The sea has mesmerized, enticed, and challenged humanity throughout its history. Endowed with human qualities, the vast and powerful seascape has inspired the greatest amount of interest among writers as a spatial signifier for a whole world of shifting identities, mobilities and connections. Endowed with human qualities, the sea has been portrayed as indifferent, hostile, welcoming, and fickle. As a archetypal symbol, the sea denotes purification and redemption, death and rebirth. Literatures of the sea are works that have ocean, sea, large river or expansive lake as critical to the story. Oceanic discourse is a typical channel for sublime emotions. The focus of this paper is to analyze 'the sea within'-unresolved emotions of characters with their intense longing for the open sea forming the backdrop of the story. Placing two rarely staged plays—Henrik Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea and Eugene O'Neill's epic Pulitzer Prize-winning play Anna Christie within the corpus of the sublime is illuminating because it reveals the gamut of meanings carried by the profusion of sea/oceanic imagery.

Abstract: People are acutely responsive to how others perceive, evaluate, and feel about them. Th... more Abstract:
People are acutely responsive to how others perceive, evaluate,
and feel about them. The handprint drawings on Cave walls to the
latest smartphone self-portraits or ‘Selfie’ clearly demonstrate people’s
obsession for a pictorial representation of the self. We live in a world
where hedonistic materialism and instant gratification have seeped
deep into our culture and psyche. The great malady of the twentieth
century implicated in all of our troubles and affecting us individually
and socially, is ‘loss of soul’, and loss of meaning. But deep inside the
core of every person, soul selfies exist. No society in human history has
successfully maintained moral life without the aid of religion. Soul
selfies are the religious lens through which we look at our lives. In a
postmodern world there are no universal religious or ethical laws,
everything is shaped by the cultural context of a particular time and
place and community. Most often rejecting reason and science, New
Age religion or New Age spirituality arose as a discontent with
traditional religious beliefs. Some of the most celebrated contemporary
fiction captures and reflects this turbulent situation of spiritual
engagement, uncertainty, and experimentation. The objective of my
presentation is to examine ‘Paradigms of Spiritual Regeneration in
New Age Fiction’. With this intent, a comparative study of the novels
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Brazilian), and The Immortals of
Meluah by Amish Tripathi (Indian), which are considered as best
sellers in the spiritual genre, is taken up and analyzed thematically.
Key words: Selfies of the soul, religion, spirituality, New Age fiction, The Alchemist, The Immortals of Meluah, spiritual regeneration

ABSTRACT The story of "Cinderella" is one of the most famous of all the fairytales. According to... more ABSTRACT
The story of "Cinderella" is one of the most famous of all the fairytales. According to folklorist studies, it is the best known tale in history. It can be found in almost all cultures. Scholars from diverse fields such as literary history, psychology, feminist studies and cultural studies have been trying, from various perspectives, to explore more deeply the meanings and the influence of the Cinderella story. Probably the popularity of this fairy tale is mainly due to the fact that the story brings up issues that find resonance within many women. Young girls as they get older fantasize about getting carried off by prince charming or the knight in shining armor. Colette Dowling's well-known book The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independence which appeared in 1981 examines the negative influence of the Cinderella tale. She points out that Cinderella is in fact a patriarchal instrument to produce and nurture a psychological dependence in women, which is very harmful to women and their development. Women who are affected by Cinderella fairy tales have an unconscious desire to be taken care of by other people and many women suffer from this complex. Dialectically, the Cinderella story contains a strong negative narrative which serves the patriarchal purpose of keeping women in a passive and subordinate position. The Cinderella story implies that external help is necessary in transforming women’s lives. Apparently Perrault's version conforms to the patriarchal and bourgeoisie ideology of late 17th century France but now it is seen as a negative role-model for young females. However in Grimm’s version and also in almost every version except Perrault’s and its variants, Cinderella takes an active role in her transformation. She is shown as tough and resilient and as one who teaches us that wishes and desires are justifiable, but they are only obtainable if you are willing to pursue them. This paper explores how in her debut novel Ancient Promise , Jaishree Misra’s de-mythologizes the ‘Cinderella complex’ by subverting existing patriarchal ideologies and practices that have given rise to this psychological complex in women through centuries of social and cultural conditioning.
Keywords: ‘Cinderella Complex’, women, psychological dependency, Patriarchy,
de-mythologize, Ancient Promise, subversion

Humour is universal, it is found in every culture, in every language. Humour can be dark when it... more Humour is universal, it is found in every culture, in every language. Humour can be dark when it takes seriously the tragic aspects of human life or it can be a celebration of the joys of life, and is pure sunshine with its focus on joy, on friendship and on fellow-feeling, on the warmth and conviviality of human relations. A culture’s humour, perhaps more than any other cultural markers (food, dress, etc.), provides invaluable insight into a nation’s values and perceptions—not only how they view others, but also how they view themselves. In England, the use of humour in social interactions is a very important convention. But Comedy/humour is under-explored in Victorian literary criticism although it is pervasive in the texts of the era. A generally held notion is that there exists a dialogic interchange between the humorous text and its culture. Hence this paper is an attempt to explore how Dickens and Jerome make use of the quirky, quintessentially English humour as narrative technique to critique the socio-cultural values of Victorian England through their respective novels-Pickwick Papers and Three Men in a Boat .
Keywords: Humour, English culture, Social critique, Pickwick Papers and Three Men in a Boat.

Among debut Indian English novels, few have aroused as much controversy as Arundhati Roy's The Go... more Among debut Indian English novels, few have aroused as much controversy as Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, whether on theme or style of narration. Perhaps the most striking feature in a novel is the linguistic innovation the novelist makes. Arundhati Roy won the Booker prize of 1997 for the stylistic innovations in her debut novel. An analysis of Roy's narrative style is quite complicated, for its structure implies many levels of reading. She writes in a style markedly different from many of her contemporaries. To express her thoughts Roy invents an almost code-language suffused with cross-references, so that it seems the novel invents the language in which it is written. The God of Small Things clearly merits critical study for despite its veneer of simplicity, it is a complex postmodernist and ‗writerly' text that invites evaluation from various angles.

The journey is universally recognized as a narrative in many cultures. Since the earliest times, ... more The journey is universally recognized as a narrative in many cultures. Since the earliest times, the act of travelling, of proceeding from one place to another, has been seen as a natural metaphor-- for learning, for the acquisition of knowledge and experience. Indeed the metaphor of travel pervades Western literature. But all metaphors of travel are not alike in their implications, although ‘journey archetype’ lies at the heart of many well known works. As a voyage of self discovery, of exploring new landscapes or as an escape from a stress filled situation, the travel thus inscribed is not only a geographic and cultural process but also a metaphor for the enabling movement of thought itself. Travel as a metaphor involves a voyage of the self, a search for identity through a series of cultural identifications. Travel literature allows the reader experience a particular culture, place, or people through the eyes of the writer. D.H. Lawrence and Lawrence Durrell are widely recognised as one of the finest travel writers. Both had a passion for the Mediterranean islands which each had visited in course of time. Although Lawrence has long been recognised and celebrated as a travel writer where his characters “discover their identities through their response to place”, the serious purpose of his travels has not hitherto been thoroughly studied and evaluated. Lawrence Durrell, on the other hand, lived almost all of his adult life in the Mediterranean, and nearly all of his important writing-including the Alexandria quartet, the Avignon quintet, the poems, and his four travel books-focuses on the region. Durrell's fundamental philosophy about travel is codified as "human beings are expressions of their landscape,..”. His passionate, evocative writing about his travels-in particular the Greek islands-is a timeless exploration of how ‘landscapes shape our experience’. (1976). While Lawrence’s Sea and Sardinia describes a brief journey, from Taormina in Sicily to the interior of Sardinia in January 1921, as an ‘escape attempt’ or as a potential antitdote to modernity, Durrell’s Sicilian Carousel (1976), forcefully represents the idea of travel as an escape and as a search for an existential identity. The paper focuses attention on Lawrence’s book Sea and Sardinia and Durrell’s Sicilian Carousel, where travel is seen as a metaphor for both discovering one’s identity and also in discovering the spirit of the place/ landscape.
Keywords: Travel literature, metaphor, DH Lawrence’s Sea and Sardinia, Lawrence Durrell’s
Sicilian Carousel

All human beings are entitled to certain basic rights that define a meaningful existence. The Uni... more All human beings are entitled to certain basic rights that define a meaningful existence. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was formulated by the United Nation in 1948 to safeguard and promote human rights at the global level. Since then various human rights treatise have been established to safeguard the interest of the minorities and the marginalized sections of society including women. Women's human right is a revolutionary notion. During the UN Decade for Women (1976-85), apart from establishing universal standards to promote and protect women's rights, the United Nations held four international conferences on women for achieving gender equality, including that of inheritance rights(land and property rights). However, in Indian society, within the family, gender constructs creates gender roles leading to gender discrimination. In addition, the Personal Laws have often been exploited to the disadvantage of women, although it is hoped that the Uniform Family Code (UFC) will take into account the anomalies within the existing laws. In India, agriculture is the main source of livelihood and land is an essential element of identity. Land rights are civil rights of fundamental importance to an individual and it does not merely mean ownership rights. For most women, especially in the rural context, land is their only source of livelihood. While women in India have the legal right to own land, very few do. For those women who do own land, ownership rarely translates into control of the land or of the assets flowing from the land. It is against this background I wish to examine the Land and Property Rights of Women in Indian Society.

The River Pamba is the main source of drinking water to the people of Central Travancore in Keral... more The River Pamba is the main source of drinking water to the people of Central Travancore in Kerala, the scenic and exotic southern state of India. It is considered as a 'holy' river due to the presence of Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa's Temple on its banks. River Pamba is now in a state of high contamination and pollution mainly due to the impact of unrestricted tourism activities. The present state of degradation of the river is due to anthropogenic activities such as directing human waste and dumping of solid waste from hotels and other establishments into it causing water pollution and giving rise to water-borne diseases. The impact of anthropogenic pressure on the river is quite high and hence drastic steps and continuous monitoring is essential.

Few debut novels have aroused as much controversy as Wuthering Heights based on themes, style or ... more Few debut novels have aroused as much controversy as Wuthering Heights based on themes, style or on techniques. Although, Wuthering Heights scandalized and nauseated the Victorians, modern critics, nevertheless, speak highly of the strength of the novel's structure and on Emily Brontë's dynamic and disciplined handling of language. A novel comes into existence through the creativity of the writer. And the readers come in contact with the fictional world of the novels through its language. Hence, for comprehending fictional texts, a close study and analysis of language is a necessary prerequisite. Stylistic analysis is used as an analytical tool to see textual patterns and its significance. It is based on statistical data that validate how language, vocabulary and syntax are used to bring about interpretation of the text. Wuthering Heights presents a variety of styles. Stylistically, much ahead of her time, Brontë culled a form best suited to articulate her subject and ideas effectively. This paper is, therefore, an attempt to discover what is striking about Brontë's narrative style.

Books by Dr. Lata Marina

ADHYAYA Publishers, New Delhi, 2023

This article explores the representation of housemaids in contemporary Indian English Literature ... more This article explores the representation of housemaids in contemporary Indian English Literature and includes non-fiction, short stories, and novels by Indian women writers writing in English.

Journal of Arts, IIS University, 2023

SINGULARITIES, Vol. 9, Issue 2, 2022

Keywords: Partition, Hate, Fanaticism, Tamas (Novel), Children and Youths

VIRTUOSO-a Refereed Transnational Bi-Annual Journal of Language and Literature

ADHYAYA Publishers, New Delhi, 2023