Marigolds

Subramani’s Marigolds constructs a man, who is desperately attempting to comprehend and negotiate the “fetid” bleakness of his life, from a postcolonial Fijian girmit vantage point. Chetram’s experiences, however, are representative of universal anguish and ennui of modern existence. In this existential realm of limbo or “self-made prison”, there is “nothing to be done” (Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett) and there is an understanding of the fact that “words are never concerned with truth, never with adequate expression” (On Truth and Lies in an Extra-moral Sense, Friedrich Nietzsche). The collapse of communication and activities inevitably leads to a breakdown of relationships, as Chetram’s wife “pulls the orhini over her head” to shield herself from his gaze; his mother only exists to tease him with her insanity; his quiet brother resists the “tremors of brotherly love” that Chetram feels; and, his precocious nieces despise him for being old.

In the postcolonial imagination, possessing a house symbolizes the purest indicator of forging a positive identity and a contented life, as has been seen in A House for Mr Biswas. Yet, in this story, even after building a house of his own, Chetram is denied any scope of private redemption through the motif of a “dried-up flower bed” – an emblem of nihilistic frustration of life energy, personal desires and domestic harmony. However, what proves to be especially catastrophic is Chetram’s attempt at “suppressing all aggression”. Herein, the numerous references to toilet activities in the story sardonically point at the mislaid release of psychological repressions through visceral functions of the body. Though, Chetram occasionally finds rescue from these tormenting anxieties of his repressed inner life through dreams, for the most part, he suffers, surrenders and even embraces the futility of his life. Even his beautiful Felliniesque dream of flying is unceremoniously terminated by the “reproaches from the shadow”. This shadow signifies a postmodern fragmentation of the self and the creation of an alter ego. Unfortunately, in the case of Chetram, his alter ego is the product of his darkest instincts that express itself in sudden bouts of irrational violence and cruelty, like breaking the head of a doll or mouthing flowers in a fit of insecure rage. Chetram’s postmodern angst proves to be doubly painful, in the context of the bitter “historical basis” of his girmit reality. Thus, his aggressive activities are directed towards his wife, signifying a subaltern’s Will to Power that seeks validation by subjugating other social and cultural groups that are further marginalized than him. Though Chetram attempts desperately to avert a total union with his alter ego, the experience of being overlooked by his peers and mocked by his students finally sends him to the precipice of a dizzying realization that his “whole existence has been in bad faith”. All of Chetram’s inner tensions are further released by alcohol and he tumbles into a point of no return. The implications are devastating; in spite of his attempts to “run”, the shadow of his alter ego – “a wiry creature in a hippie blouse” – has finally caught up to him. This can only have disastrous consequences, as Chetram loses all his deference for family values, culminating in his final brutal abuse of his wife. The mock “serenity” has finally gone from their days, leading to the ominous realization that “There is no alternate life: a hundred years of history on these islands has resulted in wilderness and distress”.

Abira Nath

PG I