Analysis Of Nicole Jouve's The Scope Of Happiness

In the light of Nicole Jouve’s stand one may say that the autobiographical plays a very important part in this novel. Devi is nobody but Nayantara Sahgal’s mother who was undergoing Nehru phase of Indira Gandhi’s reign. The disillusionment reached its peak during the emergency period. Devi’s dilemma is the dilemma that tormented Vijaya Lakshmi and her daughter Nayantara. In a dignified way both tried to give vent to the feeling of dislocation in their books in the quite of Mussorie. Vijaya Lakshmi wrote her autobiography. The Scope of Happiness (1979) while Nayantara wrotre this novel. The theme of dislocation dominates both these works. Describing her state of mind while resigning from the post and the party Vijaya Lakshmi writes: “I decided to resign. The reason I gave was that I was increasingly out of tune with my party and with the government polices. It was a hard decision. There seemed to be no alternative. My sense of duty to the country led me to the further decision to remain out of focus of the power structure” (6). Doesn’t Devi echo the same feelings? To conclude one may say that A Situation in New Delhi is a novel of political dislocation on two levels, on the level of the novelist’s own life and on the level of her creation, i.e., her characters. Like a tree having its roots in the dark, deep, sense of dislocation, the novel grows into …show more content…
She also suggests that there are “good” and “bad” revolutions. The passive revolution of Shivraj is contrasted with the violent revolution of Rishad. It is when Usman assumes the mantle of revolutionary leadership let vacant by Shivraj that there is an indication of hope for the future. Rishad’s tragic death suggests a movement that is doomed from the start- doomed because of its clandestine nature. The suggestion is that if a revolution is to be successful, it must be a popular ground – swell led by a charismatic leader in the style of Gandhi or