Universal Humanism Analysis

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entangles herself to the marriage institution. Thus AEM can be read as an attempt to focus on the philosophy of universal humanism. Her choice to opt for her dependable (though unmusical ) businessman- husband James over the volatile and moody Michael, and her denunciation of passion for family and social order, is a thematic preoccupation once again repeated from A Suitable Boy and The Golden Gate, says Mala Pandurang.(157) Julia’s choice for stability as compared to passion reflects strains of Lata from Seth’s earlier magnum opus ASB. Lata in ASB chose the stable and dependable Haresh rather than Kabir whom she truly loved. Similarly Liz, in TGG, chose a pragmatic Phil over a romantic John because she understood that in the game of life what will last is steady affection rather than a passionate romantic love relationship. Two types of stability one, social and …show more content…

Physical intimacy without any emotional attachments will produce more pain than pleasure. This concept is illustrated by Seth through Michael Holme’s affair with Virginie.
Conjugal relationships occupy the next important position in Seth’s novels. The success ratio of marital relationships in the fictional world of Vikram Seth is indeed encouraging. Phil and Liz, Pran and Savita, Veena and Kedarnath Tandon Julia and James, Mr. and Mrs. Kapoor, Ada and Stanley Holme, Arun and Meenakshi, Phil and Claire-these are the couplesd united in wedlock. Among the younger couples, Phil and Savita, Veena and Tandon can be called ideal couples because their relationship involves mutual appreciation, understanding and respect.
Marital discord leading to eventual break up is seen in the case of Phil and Claire. Marriages formed out of rapturous love like that of Arun and Meenakshi also stands as an example of failure. Conjugal relationships like that of Rasheed who is forced to marry his brother’s widow ends in a

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