The History House
“The God of Small Things” is a novel by an Indian novelist Arundhati Roy. The story revolves around a typical Indian family and how the entire family ends tragically due to forbidden love. All the love stories in the novel are wrangled in feuds, and relationships do not end well. The fraternal twins, Estha and Rahel, live in a society that dictates love laws and forbids some relationships. The childhood experiences of the twins shape them, and they eventually break the love laws that are laid down by society. As the story progresses, it is evident that the History House is a crucial element of the novel. The History House is an abandoned house on the other side of the river where significant events of the story take place. The history house symbolizes bad luck, for it is when people start going to the History house that the tragedy begins to strike the family. The History house also symbolizes unchartered territories that are forbidden by society.
The History House is a symbol of freedom to Estha. When the family goes to pick Margaret and Sophie from the airport, the family makes a stop to see the house of music, the twin’s favorite movie. Since Estha cannot stop singing along, he goes to wait alone in the lobby. While in the hall, Estha gets molested by the Orangedrink Lemondrink man, an experience that changes the life of Estha for good. Since his scary encounter with the Orangedrink Lemondrink man, Estha is scared of staying at home, thinking that the Orangedrink Lemondrink man will come for him at home. Therefore, Estha contemplates running away from home. The only place that Estha thinks of seeking refuge is in the deserted History house on the other side of the river. The History house symbolizes freedom for Estha because it will free him from the wrath of the Orangedrink Lemondrink man. Although Estha is just a child, he is convinced that the only way to attain freedom from “the monster” is to run away from home and seek refuge in the History house.
The History house also symbolizes freedom for Ammu and Velutha. Ammu and Velutha are lovers, contrary to the unwritten laws of their society. The society that Ammu and Velutha live in is controlled by class. Ammu belongs to the highest social class because her family is wealthy. On the other hand, Velutha belongs to the lowest social level because of his poverty. To make matters worse, Velutha does the maintenance work at Paradise Pickles and Preserves, the factory belonging to the family of Ammu. A relationship between people of different classes is unheard of, and for Ammu to have an affair with a poor factory worker is strictly forbidden. However, the two lovers use the History house as their secret love hideout. When Estha and Rahel run away from home and hide in the History house, they did not know that Velutha was also hiding in the same house waiting for Ammu. For Velutha and Ammu, the history house represents freedom since it is the only place they can love each other without inhabitations from society.
Chacko uses the History house as a metaphor to teach the children about their past. Just like his entire family, Chacko is unlucky in love. When Chacko fell in love and impregnated Margaret, he thought he had finally found love. However, his happiness is short-lived as Margaret lives him for another man. Therefore, Chacko is forced to return home a heartbroken man. Chacko finds solace in teaching Esha and Rahel about their history. He tells the children, “…we’ve been locked out. And when we look in through the windows, all we see are shadows. And when we try and listen, all we hear is a whispering. And we cannot understand the whispering because our minds have been invaded by a war…A war that has made us adore our conquerors and despise ourselves…” (Arundhati 25). According to Chacko, the traditions of their ancestors had been washed away by foreigners, and the current generation could not reverse the change. The only way that children like Estha and Rahel could learn about their past is by reading about it. Chacko believed that his people had abandoned their valuable traditions, just like the History house had been abandoned for years.
The History house also symbolizes unexplored societal boundaries. Rahel and Estha describe the History house as “…the house on the other end of the side of the river, in the middle of the abandoned rubber estate, where they had never been” (Arundhati 26). Just like the History house was never visited, the society laid down many rules prohibiting many things. However, the people who broke the norm and visited the History house also ended up breaking unchartered societal boundaries. Society prohibits love between people of different social classes. However, Ammu and Velutha break the norm by having an affair despite hailing from contrasting social classes. The two lovers use the History house as their secret love hideout. Similarly, Estha and Rahel go to the History house and break a societal norm. Society forbids sexual relations between siblings. However, Rahel and Estha end up becoming lovers in a community that bans relationships between siblings. Although the History house symbolizes forbidden societal boundaries, characters like Ammu and Rahel dare to visit the History house and go against societal values.
The History house is a symbol of catastrophe and bad omen. All the characters who visit the abandoned History house get faced with bad omen. The first catastrophe is the death of Sophie Mol. The children hatched up a plan to run away from home and hide in the History house. However, as they cross the river, their boat capsizes, and Sophie Mols drowns. The death of Sophie tags along a string of misfortunes. Velutha visits the History house to wait for Ammu. However, Baby Kochamma hatches an evil plan and accuses Velutha of kidnapping the children and killing Sophie. Velutha receives a fatal beating and ends up dead. Ammu develops depression from the death of her lover and dies too. Rahel later gets married and divorced because she always seems distant whenever they make love with her husband. Estha, on the other hand, does not speak to anyone, and he spends his days going for long walks. Although Ammu, Velutha, Rahel, and Estha were brave enough to break societal norms, they lead miserable lives for failing to conform to societal values.
The History house also symbolizes Baby Kochamma, the darkest character in the novel. The History house stands alone, abandoned, and in the middle of a rubber plantation. Similarly, Baby Kochamma stands alone and abandoned in the family. Baby Kochamma is a bitter and spiteful person because she did not end up with the love of her life. Thus, Baby Kochamma makes it her mission to destroy the love lives of her family members. When Sophie Mol dies, Baby blackmails the twins into framing Velutha for the death. Also, Baby Kochamma frustrates Ammu in all her efforts to destroy the relationship between Ammu and Velutha.
In conclusion, the History house is an essential symbol in the novel. To some characters like Ammu and Velutha, it is a symbol of freedom. To other characters like Chacko, the History house is a symbol of the preservation of ancient traditions. Also, the History house symbolizes societal values and unchartered social territories. The History house stands alone, abandoned, and undisturbed, just like norms and values in many societies.
Work Cited
ARUNDHATI. R. The god of small things. MEHTA PUBLISHING HOUSE, 2001.