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{{short description|1976 novel by R. K. Narayan}} |
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{{infobox book |
{{infobox book|<!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] --> |
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| name = The Painter of Signs |
| name = The Painter of Signs |
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| title_orig = |
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| translator = |
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| image = File:ThePainterOfSigns.jpg |
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| caption = 1st edition (US) |
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| caption = First edition (US) |
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| author = [[R. K. Narayan]] |
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| illustrator = |
| illustrator = |
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| cover_artist = Abner Graboff |
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| cover_artist = [[Abner Graboff]] |
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| country = |
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| language = |
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| series = |
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| publisher = [[Viking Press]] (US)<br>[[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]] (UK) |
| genre = |
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| publisher = [[Viking Press]] (US)<br>[[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]] (UK) |
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| release_date = 1976 |
| release_date = 1976 |
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| english_release_date = |
| english_release_date = |
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| media_type = |
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| pages = |
| pages = |
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| isbn = 0-670-53567-2 |
| isbn = 0-670-53567-2 |
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| preceded_by = [[My Days]] |
| preceded_by = [[My Days]] |
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| followed_by = [[A Tiger for Malgudi]] |
| followed_by = [[A Tiger for Malgudi]] |
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'''''The Painter of Signs''''' is a [[1976 in literature|1976]] |
'''''The Painter of Signs''''' is a [[1976 in literature|1976]] novel by [[R. K. Narayan]]. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2010}} |
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2010}} |
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Raman is a sign-painter who takes the art of calligraphy very seriously. He devotedly creates the perfect signboard for all his customers, taking great care in the styling of words on the board. Made using the "best rosewood" from the Mempi mountains, Raman believes that his signboards are a notch above his rival Jayaraj's. Living with his aunt, a conservative old woman who likes to ramble about mythological stories and old family gossip, on Ellaman Street, Raman goes through periods of frustration at his aunt's interest in his going abouts and feelings of guilt for ignoring her affection and presence. Not orthodox himself, Raman neither sports a tuft like others from his caste nor has inhibitions in eating meat if necessary. He looks down on superstitions and old-fashioned notions of religion and caste and spends his time reading ancient copies of books on science and history. He does have a tendency to quote from the scriptures and make associations with events in the scriptures and those in his life. |
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Daisy, an intense young woman involved in family planning campaigns, hires Raman to make a signboard for her office. For no reason whatsoever, Raman finds himself bewitched by her beauty, and more so by her precision, authority and her devotion to her career. It so happens that he has to accompany Daisy on a three-week campaign in the villages around Malgudi to identify potential sites where he can paint signs and messages on population control and finds himself further attracted to her firmness, simplicity, and her tendency to shun luxuries and comforts of all sorts. He finds that his resolve to remain unmarried, seeing marriage as commonplace and unnecessary, is weakening. |
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This bittersweet novel is as fresh and charming today as it was when originally published. Telling the story of Raman, a conscientious sign-painter, who is trying to lead a rational life, the novel is filled with busy neighborhood life and gossip, the alternating rhythms and sounds of the city from morning till night, and the pungent smells and tantalizing flavors of home cooking, as Narayan portrays everyday life in Malgudi. The city is growing and changing, as its inhabitants try to carve out some individual successes within the juggernaut of “progress.” |
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The story goes on to outline Daisy's complicated past and her eventual admission of a mutual attraction for Raman. The two start spending the nights together, and decide to get a [[Gandharva marriage]], the simplest form of marital union. Daisy seems to be unaffected by the relationship though, and tells Raman that she will not change her last name, or house-keep for him. Raman mulls over the eventualities of such a wedlock, but is steadfast in his affection and love for Daisy and constantly tells himself that her needs and wishes will always be more important than his. His aunt, upset over her nephew's unorthodox afflictions - especially at his decision to marry out of caste - asks him to arrange a one way trip to [[Benaras]] for her. His repeated beseechings to her to stay and bless him and Daisy have no effect. On the morning that Daisy is to move into Raman's house on Ellaman Street, she changes her mind about Raman, feeling that her sense of purpose and her independent existence may be affected by married life. She decides to leave Malgudi for a three-year family planning initiative in villages all over India. Confused and befuddled, Raman tries his best to convince her, telling her that his house on Ellaman street will be open for her whenever she decides to return. |
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Raman, a college graduate, brings a sense of professionalism to his sign-painting, taking pride in his calligraphy and trying to create exactly the right sign, artistically, for each client. Living with his aged aunt, a devout, traditional woman whose days are spent running the house and tending to her nephew’s needs and whose evenings are spent at the temple listening to the old stories and praying, Raman prefers a rational approach to life, avoiding the explanations of life’s mysteries which religion provides. As he begins to write his aunt’s biography, which she is dictating, with all its portents and interventions by deities, Raman asks, “How could the Age of Reason be established if people were like this?” For his own life, he believes that “ultimately he can evolve a scheme for doing without money,” and that he can “get away from sex thoughts,” which he believes are “too much everywhere.” |
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Then he meets Daisy. A young woman devoted to improving the lives of women and the standard of living of the country through strict family planning, Daisy becomes his biggest customer, commissioning signs for all the family planning clinics she helps establish through the city and outlying rural areas. Accompanying her so he can select exactly the right location and style for the signs that are needed in the countryside, he finds himself totally bewitched by this liberated and high-minded young woman. Inevitably, his attraction to Daisy proves more powerful than this desire to avoid the entanglements of marriage. |
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Narayan is a master of the domestic scene, as he presents the major and minor conflicts of family life through the different points of view of the participants. Respect for his characters and a good-humored (and often humorous) presentation of their issues give warmth to his scenes and allow the reader to feel real empathy with the characters. Raman’s belief in his own rational enlightenment and his simultaneous vulnerability to Daisy’s manipulations provide the author with unlimited opportunities for dramatic irony—Ram’s extreme naivete sets him up for major crises and “learning experiences.” Scenes between Ram and his devout, elderly aunt provide a glimpse of the conflicts between old and new India, in addition to the generational conflicts every family faces between its young and its old. Scenes between Ram and Daisy reflect the changes in the role of women in society, as women become more assertive and liberated. |
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These reflect the idea that Painter of Signs contains the preoccupation with human character and human relationships. As Raman finds himself being torn between his Aunt and Daisy, the traditional way and the modern way, we see the protagonist as being "in-between" in the town of Malgudi. At the end of the novel, Raman's aunt left for Benares on a pilgrimage and Daisy left the town of Malgudi to pursue her career which means that Raman is left alone in Malgudi. This depicts the fact that it seems as though Raman cannot facilitate either women or what they represent (traditionality and modernity respectively), thus presenting the problematic themes of human character and their relationships with one another. |
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{{R. K. Narayan}} |
{{R. K. Narayan}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Painter of Signs, The}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Painter of Signs, The}} |
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| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Novels by R. K. Narayan]] |
[[Category:Novels by R. K. Narayan]] |
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[[Category:Novels about artists]] |
[[Category:Novels about artists]] |
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[[Category:Viking Press books]] |
[[Category:Viking Press books]] |
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[[Category:Heinemann (publisher) books]] |
[[Category:Heinemann (publisher) books]] |
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| ⚫ | |||
Latest revision as of 04:40, 20 July 2024
 First edition (US) | |
| Author | R. K. Narayan |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Abner Graboff |
| Publisher | Viking Press (US) Heinemann (UK) |
Publication date | 1976 |
| ISBN | 0-670-53567-2 |
| Preceded by | My Days |
| Followed by | A Tiger for Malgudi |
The Painter of Signs is a 1976 novel by R. K. Narayan.
Plot
[edit] |
Raman is a sign-painter who takes the art of calligraphy very seriously. He devotedly creates the perfect signboard for all his customers, taking great care in the styling of words on the board. Made using the "best rosewood" from the Mempi mountains, Raman believes that his signboards are a notch above his rival Jayaraj's. Living with his aunt, a conservative old woman who likes to ramble about mythological stories and old family gossip, on Ellaman Street, Raman goes through periods of frustration at his aunt's interest in his going abouts and feelings of guilt for ignoring her affection and presence. Not orthodox himself, Raman neither sports a tuft like others from his caste nor has inhibitions in eating meat if necessary. He looks down on superstitions and old-fashioned notions of religion and caste and spends his time reading ancient copies of books on science and history. He does have a tendency to quote from the scriptures and make associations with events in the scriptures and those in his life.
Daisy, an intense young woman involved in family planning campaigns, hires Raman to make a signboard for her office. For no reason whatsoever, Raman finds himself bewitched by her beauty, and more so by her precision, authority and her devotion to her career. It so happens that he has to accompany Daisy on a three-week campaign in the villages around Malgudi to identify potential sites where he can paint signs and messages on population control and finds himself further attracted to her firmness, simplicity, and her tendency to shun luxuries and comforts of all sorts. He finds that his resolve to remain unmarried, seeing marriage as commonplace and unnecessary, is weakening.
The story goes on to outline Daisy's complicated past and her eventual admission of a mutual attraction for Raman. The two start spending the nights together, and decide to get a Gandharva marriage, the simplest form of marital union. Daisy seems to be unaffected by the relationship though, and tells Raman that she will not change her last name, or house-keep for him. Raman mulls over the eventualities of such a wedlock, but is steadfast in his affection and love for Daisy and constantly tells himself that her needs and wishes will always be more important than his. His aunt, upset over her nephew's unorthodox afflictions - especially at his decision to marry out of caste - asks him to arrange a one way trip to Benaras for her. His repeated beseechings to her to stay and bless him and Daisy have no effect. On the morning that Daisy is to move into Raman's house on Ellaman Street, she changes her mind about Raman, feeling that her sense of purpose and her independent existence may be affected by married life. She decides to leave Malgudi for a three-year family planning initiative in villages all over India. Confused and befuddled, Raman tries his best to convince her, telling her that his house on Ellaman street will be open for her whenever she decides to return.