Page 164 - DENG201_ENGLISH_II

English - II

Notes the women, fearing she is ill, find her mysteriously pregnant. She soon fixes up her cousin’s cosmetics
stall and provides for her son. She keeps the identity of the father a secret. Prior to her pregnancy,
Bibi was profoundly lonely and depressed, but it is implied that despite the possibly non-consensual
conception of her son, his birth gives her life focus and purpose.
Haldar
Bibi’s cousin. A man who does not concern himself with treatment for Bibi’s illness. He and his wife
are worried only about their livelihood and share irrational fears of Bibi’s effect on their child. Haldar
is driven out of business by the women who disagree with his treatment of Bibi. He abandons his
cousin by leaving town without a word.
Haldar’s wife
Bibi Haldar’s cousin’s wife. She is more concerned about profits than with the health of her cousin-
in-law. Out of misguided protection for her child, she banishes Bibi out of their home.
The Narrator of The Third and Final Continent
The narrator chronicles his life in London and his early days in America. From Calcutta, he studies
abroad and settles in Cambridge, outside of Boston. For his first six weeks in America, he lives in an
apartment in a shared home, awaiting the arrival of his wife. He experiences culture shock, but later
thinks fondly of those days when everything was unknown. He is a kind man who ultimately builds
a solid home with his wife. He chooses to live out his life in America as it becomes his true home.
Through his repeated experience of encountering new worlds, he maintains a sense of wonder.
Mala
The narrator’s wife in The Third and Final Continent. At first, the separation from her family caused
by her wedding saddens her. When she meets her husband in Cambridge six weeks later, she no
longer cries but they are still strangers. Through time and shared experience, she becomes accustomed
to her new country and new life.
Mrs. Croft
Mrs. Croft is the elderly woman who owns the house in Cambridge where the narrator lets a room.
Born in 1866, she is amazed by the moon landing as an unthinkable achievement. Mrs. Croft is
disdainful towards modern times and manners, and declares the narrator a gentleman and Mala a
lady. She is self-sufficient and likely quite stubborn.
Helen
Mrs. Croft’s daughter. She is more modern in dress and sensibility than her mother and also more
practical and distant than the narrator.
Self-Assessment
I. Choose the correct options:
(i) The first and most obvious group of stories are the two that are set in India ............... .
(a) The Temporary Matter (b) The Treatment of Bibi Haldar
(c) A Real Durwan (d) b and c
(e) a and b
(ii) Who lives in a loveless arranged marriage.
(a) Shukumar (b) Shoba (c) Mr. Kapasi (d) The Bradfords
(iii) Shukumar and ............... are friendly neighbours.
(a) Gillan (b) Shoba (c) Lila (d) Dora.
(iv) Tina is the youngest child of ...............
(a) Mr. Das (b) Mr. Pirzada (c) Mr. Kapasi (d) Shukumar
(v) ............... Camera represents his inability to see the world clearly.
(a) Mr. Kapasi (b) Mr. Pirzada (c) Mr. Das (d) Shukumar

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