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Susila's mother is another female character in the novel. She appears in the novel at the time of her daughter's illness. She, alongwith her husband, comes to their daughter's house and lives there during her illness in order to help Krishnan in nursing her. She has a genuine desire that their daughter should recover somehow as soon as possible. Susila's mother shares all the anxieties and sufferings with Krishnan and Susila at the time of crisis. She is superstitious as she believes in the evil spirits whose unwholesome influence can be cured by mantras, incantations and talisman. She thinks that Susila's illness is the result of some malignant glance cast upon her. She thinks that she is under the malignant influence of some spirit. In her anxiety for the daughter, she calls upon the services of an exorcist who mutters some incantations, smears sacred ash on the patients forehead and ties a talisman on her arm. She offers him a tumbler of milk, a coconut, betel leaves and a rupee placed on a plate. She feels a bit embarrassed when the doctor happens to come there at that time. She begs pardon of the doctor for the act because she thinks that no way should be left untried for the recovery of Susila. On Susila's death, she proposes to Krishnan to take Leela with her but the latter does not agree to it. She leaves a mark of motherly tenderness and affection although she appears on the scene for a short time. Susila's mother is religious-minded and has faith in the efficacy of prayers. She, therefore, visits a temple in the neighbourhood, gives an offering of coconut to the god, prays and begs for the recovery of her daughter. She has a simple, credulous and conformist nature. She is kindly, sympathetic and pains-taking.
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| Susila's Mother |
The village old woman appears only once in the novel at the time of the departure of Krishnan's mother from her son's house after somedays stay. Krishnan goes to see his mother off at the but stop. The old woman is sitting in the bus beside her (Krishnan's mother). The latter tells the former that Leela is a motherless child and Krishnan is her son. The old woman suggests loudly that Krishnan should get married to another girl as he is too young. She quotes the example of her own husband whose fourth wife she is. She has a family of fourteen children. Her facile solution for a family tragedy such as Krishnan's is simplistic and crudely practical. She little realises the delicacy of the subject for Krishnan. For her, marriage is a mechanical, formal arrangement done for the purpose of procreation. She pays scant regard to the deeper side of marriage which consists in the emotional and spiritual content. She pronounces her crude philosophy about marriage in these words:
"A man must marry within fifteen days of losing his wife. Otherwise he wil be ruined."
What she says is completely on the contrary to what Krishnan thinks of matrimonial ties. For him, marriage is a relationship of two individualities in soul and heart. Hence, it is solemn and sacrosanct. It is for this reason that he decides not to marry again. The gap between these two understandings is unbridgeable. Krishnan's mother has to alert the old woman not to speak so loudly as it will upset. her son. She is an uneducated, unfeeling person who is self-complacent. She is ignorant of the complexities involved in human relations and ties. Her simple mind travels not beyond the hard mundane actualities of life.