In contrast to this, Anju’s mother Gouri Ma was treated well by her husband Bijoy. His death did not shatter her. Instead she was determined to realize her husband’s dream of providing good education to the girls. She says: ‘ I do not have the luxury. I made a promise and I must use all my energies to keep it.’ (34) She did not care about the society. Gouri Ma becomes a symbol of power and strength. Both Aunt Nalini and Gouri Ma are widows, who are subjected to face the curse of social stigma and social marginalization.
However, Gouri Ma’s financial independence makes her less vulnerable to this. While Anju and Sudha were able to create an identity for themselves, though at the end, these women remain subdued in their circumstances. Another character which deserves acknowledgement is Singhji. Unfortunately, he is sidelined and is not given much significance. If not for his presence, the Chatterjee family would have led an entirely different life.
It is Pishi who reveals the dark secret’ to Sudha that her father is the one responsible for the death of Anju’s father too and that he has no biological relation with the family. Sudha carries his secret for a long time. It is only when she moves to US that she receives a letter from Singhji, revealing that he is her father, who had been living with them for the past years. He lived there disguised as their servant, obediently following their advices.
Though he was repentant, he was not given a chance to confess.
Singhji says:’ It was then I realized that, having given up my identity, I’d become like the viewer of a movie who weeps for the characters on the screen but cannot help them.’ (313). The reason behind this discrimination is that Singhji is not a member of the high class Chatterjee family. The society always exploits such people and look down at them with contempt. In The Vine of Desire which follows the story of Sister of My Heart, the condition is nonetheless different.
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