FIRST MEETING - correction Answer the following questions :  Judging from the picture and the title, what may this text deal with? The text may deal with a

young Indian girl who is going to be presented / shown / introduced to a prospective groom for the first time.  Now, read the text and introduce it briefly. This text is entitled “first meeting”. It is an extract

from a novel entitled “the painter of signs” written by R.K Narayan and published in 1976. In this excerpt the narrator recalls an episode of her life when she was still a teenager and her family broke the news one day of a visit of a prospective groom husband coming to inspect her.  Focus on the narrator. Pick out information in the text and write a few sentences to introduce the main character.

The narrator and main character is a thirteen-year-old Indian teenage girl. Her

parents have decided that it is high time for her to find a husband and get married so they have organized a meeting ceremony for her.  Introduce the other characters present in the scene. How are they related to the main character?

The other characters present in the scene are the narrator’s mother and father, her uncle (who’s her father’s younger brother), her sister-in-law and her nephew and nieces. L1 to l18  What piece of news did her family break to her? They broke the news that a prospective groom

would come to visit and inspect her.  How did she first react? Why? Explain in your own words. At first, she refused point blank and

declared that she would not conform the tradition and would stand against their will. We can imagine she resented being inspected like an animal or a curiosity and then compelled to marry so young and with a man she wouldn’t have chosen. That is probably why she defied their authority. What can you conclude about this young girl? Find adjectives to qualify her. She is not as docile

/submissive/ obedient as she was expected to be. On the contrary she is bold and rebellious and seems very resolute/determined to stand up to her family and take her fate into her hands. She is very courageous and brave too as she has the nerve to speak her mind and stands against her family’s will. How did the narrator’s family respond to her behavior? Quote from the text then explain in your own words.

At first, everybody in the family was shocked (“they had a shock at home” l4) and felt

deeply offended (they felt outraged” l7) . The father got particularly angry and upset as he did not expect his daughter to stand up to him / to challenge his authority. Then her uncle tried to reason with her telling her that she would have better prospects in the future if she got married /found a husband /settled down in life and conformed the tradition. L18 to the end  What did the narrator finally decide? Why? She finally decided to obey her parents and uncle /

to comply with her family’s demand and be presented to the prospective groom. She loves her family and doesn’t want to hurt or disappoint them. However, she intends to discourage the young man / to dissuade him as she does not want to get married against her will.  a.Compare the narrator’s and the parents’ attitudes and feelings before the meeting. Fill in the grid quoting from the text.

The narrator’s feelings and attitude

-“I had made up my mind that (…) I’d discourage him” (l 21 22 ) –“I felt suffocated” (l27) -“I felt sick” (l28) -“I felt that I was losing my identity” (l29) -“I bore it all patiently” (l 29 30) -“I hated the whole scene” (l33) -“I was seized with a feeling that I was in a wrong world, and that I was a stranger in their midst” (l33 to l35) -“I was irritated at her simplicity” (l 37) -“I dreaded to look into the mirror myself” (l 40) b.

The parents’ feelings and attitude

-“they exclaimed at how well I looked (l 31 32 ) -“the children gaped and cheered and joked” (l32 33 ) - “my mother’s face beaming with satisfaction” (l36) -“they admired me” (l 40) “What a fuss they made” (l 44)

As a conclusion, say what marriage meant to them and what marriage meant to her.

Marriage meant two completely different things for the narrator and her family. For her, marriage was considered as an imprisonment/ a trap. It made her feel physically sick to think that she could get married by force with a man she had never seen before and didn’t love at all. She felt betrayed and had the feeling that she did not fit into this world. She is also scared/ terrified to look at what her family had done of her – an object of desire. Finally she was angry at her mother who she thought was simple/naïve/stupid as she did not question the tradition and think by herself. On the contrary, marriage seemed to be everything you could expect for her family. They are overjoyed/ delighted and very excited at the prospect of having her married. It is a feast and a joyful celebration, almost a fulfilment.  Explain the sentence l 41 42 “they seated me like a doll” In this sentence the narrator uses a

passive form which shows she feels like a puppet whose strings are being pulled by other persons.  Pick out sentences showing that the narrator felt she did not fit into this world. I was seized with a feeling that I was in a wrong world, and that I was a stranger in their midst” (l33 to l35) What do you think is going to happen to the narrator next? What is she going to do? How is India pictured in this text?