Problematizing Realism in Early Bengali Novels
The Prehistory of a Narrative Convention in Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay's Bishbriksha ( The Poison Tree , 1872–73)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11678287 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Baidik Bhattacharya (University of Delhi, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 69-92 |
| Publication date | 2011-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | South Asian Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0275-9527 • E-ISSN: 2573-9476 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02759527.2011.11932812 |
| OpenAlex | W2772766504 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 2 |
This essay revisits the question of realism in early Bengali novels, with special attention to Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay's Bishbriksha or The Poison Tree (1872–3) as a case study. The argument is twofold: First, I argue that the contingent form emerges through complex negotiations with the time of colonial modernity and the available literary tradition. Second, I demonstrate that Bankim uses certain irregularities of the form to force it into a conversation with his contemporary issues, most notably social reforms in nineteenth-century Bengal. Through the conjoined narrative of the normative and the irregular, there emerges a unique realism suitable for the narration of colonial modernity
Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · BENGAL · Bengali · Colonialism · Epistemology · Linguistics · Literature · Modernity · Narrative · Normative · Realism · History · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |