47 pages • 1 hour read
The Lowland
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Assimilation
Coming from a traditional Bengali family in Calcutta, Subhash has trouble feeling like he belongs in Providence, Rhode Island. At first, he is just a PhD student, but the longer he stays and realizes that he will probably never return home to India, he struggles with the cultural differences. One main difference is that of dating and marriage. Subhash has always assumed that he would have an arranged marriage where he and his wife would live under his parents’ roof. Subhash dates Holly and knows that the relationship is not bound to last, as he has a duty back home. Still, he struggles when she breaks up with him, not wanting to be a part of either culture. It is not until he is in his old age that he feels more comfortable with the life he has made for himself in the United States.
Gauri never feels comfortable in Providence, even when she returns in her 60s. During her first few months in Providence, she attends a dinner party with other Indian woman and doesn’t want to be a part of the culture. She quickly becomes self-conscious in her saris when she is walking around campus and suddenly buys new clothes, cuts up her saris, and chops her hair off. However, when she moves to California, she mentors other Indian students and has Indian holiday parties at her house.
When Bela is 12 and travels to Tollygunge with Subhash, she is self-conscious and uncomfortable at her grandparents’ house. She doesn’t understand the cultural differences and is uncomfortable with eating with her hands. She only understands some Bengali because she had always spoken English with Gauri and Subhash.
Duty
Udayan and Subhash have growing differences between them as they grow older, but their attachment to one another is stronger than their differences. Even when Subhash disagrees with Udayan’s political beliefs and actions, he knows that the two of them need each other. These two brothers show intense loyalty to one another throughout their lives. When Subhash learns that Udayan’s widow is pregnant, he feels a duty to raise Udayan’s child and care for Gauri.
Subhash believes that Gauri has a duty to be a present and loving mother and is constantly disappointed in her inability to live up to this expectation. He also wishes that she would be happy in her new life as his wife. These expectations cripple Gauri even further, as her only passion and purpose is her education.
Udayan is expected to have an arranged marriage and live with his parents to raise his children. He goes against this by eloping, but he does move in with his parents out of financial need; he is not able to support a family with the hours he spends with the revolutionary Maoist political organization. Udayan breaks from his duty as a citizen and son, ending up killed because of his actions.
Generational Differences
The novel follows the lives of four generations and their relationships with one another. There is tension between most characters as they struggle to understand one another.
Subhash and Udayan’s parents want both of their sons to get an education, have an arranged marriage, and raise their grandchildren under their roof. Unfortunately for the parents, both of their sons end up far from this traditional dream. Udayan elopes out of love, and Subhash elopes with Udayan’s widow out of self-proclaimed duty.
As an adult, Bela remains distant with Subhash and finds it difficult to confide in him about her life. Despite Subhash’s untraditional marriage choice, he wishes that Bela would get married and settle down. While she doesn’t get married, she partly follows tradition when she moves back home to raise her daughter.
Belonging
Subhash and Gauri both struggle with belonging. Subhash is uncomfortable with his personality as a young child, always comparing himself to Udayan. Subhash, not feeling bold or interesting enough, travels to the United States to break away from this hold only to find that he doesn’t belong in the new culture. Subhash’s role as a father is most significant in his life, but there is a sense that Subhash does not belong to Bela because he is not her biological father. He is haunted by the possibility that Bela will not love him and accept him anymore if she finds out this truth.
Because Udayan and Gauri’s elopement defies the traditional arranged marriage, his parents don’t accept Gauri as a true daughter, and this situation becomes worse once Udayan is killed. Traveling to the United States as Subhash’s wife, Gauri is trying to escape her lack of opportunity in India, only to feel confined again in the United States. The library is the only place where Gauri feels a sense of belonging. When she walks around campus and sits in on lectures, she does not feel comfortable with the other students. When her daughter is born, Gauri is uncomfortable with her role as a mother and never feels like she enjoys parenting. When she ends up abandoning her family, she feels freedom but struggles with intense shame for the rest of her life.
Unlock all 47 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Jhumpa Lahiri
