LOVE LOVE LOVE ALONE BY V.S.

NAIPAUL
CRITICAL APPRECIATION
Published in 1959, nine years after Naipaul migrated to England, Miguel Street unfolds against the
backdrop of World War II (199!19"5# and the $merican military occupation of %rinidad& %his period
also coincided 'ith increased urban!rural migration of Indians in %rinidad and the heightened pace and
(isibility of the acculturation process& )*o(e *o(e *o(e $lone,+ is one of the short stories in Miguel
Street. It is named after *ord ,aresser-s calypso about Ed'ard .III 'ho forsook the /ritish throne to
marry a commoner and di(orcee& %his statement on the ennobling po'er of lo(e to transcend class
barriers is the counterpoint to the story of a 'oman 'ho lea(es a saniti0ed, professional husband and
lu1urious lifestyle for a 2iguel 3treet slum d'elling and an unkempt, drunken, abusi(e lo(er&
.&3& Naipaul spins his tale about human relationships against the familiar backdrop of %rinidad 'here
he had li(ed4 the e(ents in the story take place in 2iguel 3treet of %rinidad, West Indies& /ut 'hat
he masterfully depicts is the ironical lo(e!hate relationship bet'een an ill!matched couple& %he story
simply related is hard!hitting and sho's ho' lo(e disappears out of the 'indo' 'hen the harsh realities
of life stare a person in the face& $ngela deserts her husband to seek ad(enture 'ith %oni but then lea(es
him to return to her lu1urious life& *o(e is s5uashed 'hen selfishness comes to the fore&
Naipaul here deals 'ith the contradictions that are inherent in the theme of lo(e& $ngela 2ary
,hristiani, the 'ife of a famous and rich doctor, 6enry 6ubert ,hristiani, sacrifices her name, fame,
'ealth and prestige for the sake of lo(e& 3he lea(es her husband simply because she can7t stand the clean
doctor7s smell& 3he is no' li(ing 'ith %oni 'ho is almost al'ays drunk and is badly dressed& 6e reeks
and emits a foul smell& %he 'ay the t'o dress and beha(e offer a sharp contrast and people 'onder ho'
a 'oman like 2rs& 6ereira82rs ,hristiani# got mi1ed up 'ith %oni& It 'as hard enough to imagine 2rs&
6ereira82rs& ,hristiani in lo(e 'ith him& /ut it 'as impossible to imagine him being in lo(e 'ith
anybody& 6e 'as like his animal, like his dog&
2rs& 6ereira did all the shopping for him& 3he paid for his rum and other re5uirements& 3he also bought
the house& Initially %oni and 2rs& 6ereira li(ed peacefully& %hen the beatings began& 3he screamed and
the man shouted and cursed using (ery (ulgar language& 3he confided e(erything to the narrator7s
mother, 'ho called it a 9damn funny sort of lo(e-& 2rs& 6ereira lo(ed %oni for his good 5ualities and felt
that his heart 'as in right place& 3he tried to make it up 'ith %oni& 3he decided to lea(e him only 'hen
he threatened to kill her 'ith a knife& 3he could not bear %ony7s insensiti(ity and decided to return to her
husband&
Naipaul has analysed the thoughts and feelings of the lady in detail& *o(e impels people to gi(e up
e(erything including money, po'er, position and family& *o(e demands reciprocity as 'ell& :ailure of
the partner to reciprocate the feelings leads to the lo(e affair coming to the naught&
Naipaul sketches his characters 'ith firm and bold strokes, making them more real and human and in
this is apparent his genius& $ 'hite couple, probably Portuguese, and a group of local boys and men
ha(e been portrayed masterfully& %he comments of the local boys and men pro(ide insight into the
hidden strands of the story& %he local dialect7s influence on the speakers7 con(ersation is 5uite e(ident
and establishes the fact that they are not nati(e speaker of English& It contrasts sharply 'ith 2rs&
6ereira-s grammatically correct and refined speech& In this indirect 'ay 'e get a glimpse of the li(es
and natures of the coloured people li(ing on 2iguel 3treet& Naipaul also gi(es the reader a peep into the
opulent life style of the rich 'hite people li(ing in 2ucurapa&
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CHARACTER SKETCHES
Mrs. Hereira
2rs& 6ereira comes to li(e, 'ith %oni, on 2iguel 3treet and makes efforts to settle in and blend in 'ith
the people of that area& 6o'e(er, no one in the neighbourhood takes her seriously4 she is ob(iously not
one of them& )%his lady didn-t fitA&&in the background&+ (page 151#& What they all 'onder is ho' she
got together 'ith someone like %oni 'ith his drunken, abnormal beha(iour& 6e appears incapable of
lo(ing anyone e1cept his dog& 6e is al'ays drunk, cannot make normal con(ersation 'ith the boys, is
dirty and ugly and fights and yells at night& 6e is crude and abusi(e& E(eryone 'onders ho' a refined
lady like $ngela could lo(e %oni& E(en the reader 'onders 'hy the lady left her affluent background for
an irresponsible drunkard like %oni& )I asked 6at, 96o' a pretty nice 'oman like that come to get mi1
up 'ith a man like thatB- + (p& 15>#& %he narrator seems to be 5uite taken 'ith herC )Aand I felt sorry
and afraidAAfor people to notice&+ (p& 15>#
/ut once the man began beating her, 2rs 6ereira lost all sense of shame in her fear, and 'ould run out
the house screaming, appealing to anyone on the street for help& Dne day she ran into the narrator-s
house& )3he didn-t make any apologyA&&frightened to cry&+ (p& 15#& 2rs 6ereira tried to e1plain %oni-s
beha(iour E )I can-t understand 'hat has come o(er %oniA&he Fust goes mad&+ (p&15#& 6o'e(er, the
narrator-s mother 'as only too ready to help her, by )speaking of mens and them, citing my dead father
as a typical e1ample&+ (p&15#
$fter this 2rs& 6ereira used to go o(er 5uite regularly& When the narrator-s mother asked her 'hy she
didn-t lea(e )this good!for!nothing man+, she admitted that she lo(ed him, that she had nursed him
'hen he had been inFured as a sailor on a boat that had been torpedoed, and that he had many good
5ualities& When the other lady suggested that he needed chastisement, 2rs& 6ereira defended him, and
e(en 5uarrelled 'ith the narrator-s mother, saying she did not need either her help or her ad(ice&
3he appears to be immature and a poor Fudge of human beings because she cannot gauge %oni7s
character& 3he seems to ha(e a romantic (ie' of him, 'hich has (ery little in common 'ith the person
that he actually is& It appears that the romantic circumstances of her meeting 'ith him ha(e
o(ershado'ed the realities of their present circumstances& %hose earlier circumstances must also ha(e
seemed e1citing in comparison to her smooth (dullB# life as a 'ealthy doctor-s 'ife& %he narrator, 'ho
is a young boy, makes a telling obser(ation& )/ut the strange thing I noticedA&&2rs& 6ereira sa' only
his hands&+ (p& 15G#& %he boy seems to think that 'hat 2rs& 6ereira thought 'as lo(e, 'as actually pity&
2rs& 6ereira also seemed to ha(e long!term plans for %oni& )3he said, 9%oni is thinkingAAhe gets his
strength back&- + (p& 15H# 6ere again, her grandiose schemes and (ie's about %oni-s character are
terribly ske'ed and far from the reality&
%hen one day, %oni threatened to kill 2rs& 6ereira 'ith a knife, and that really frightened her& :or the
first time 2rs& 6ereira says, 9%oni has forgottenAAis it right for him to treat me like thisB- (p& 159#&
6o'e(er, she refuses to stay the night as in(ited to do so by the narrator-s mother, and says that she
'ould be all right, she 'ould talk to %oni4 and that she must ha(e done something to offend him&
%his seems to be the turning point, both for the story and for 2rs& 6ereira, since it seems to be gradually
da'ning on her that she has no influence or control o(er %oni& )/ut day by dayA&&ugly to look at&+
(p&1G?#

In the meantime, the men and boys of 2iguel 3treet, 'ho 'ere curious about her and had been trying to
find out 'ho she 'as, disco(er, through an ad(ertisement in the ne'spaper, that she is $ngela 2ary
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,hristiani, the 'ife of the rich <r& 6enry 6ubert ,hristiani of 2ucurapo&
When the narrator-s mother ne1t meets 2rs& 6ereira she ad(ises her to call the police& 2rs& 6ereira
refuses, saying it 'ould cause a scandal& %his re(eals her upper middle class mores, a contrast to the
regular (iolence in the li(es of the lo'er class people of 2iguel 3treet& When the other lady points out
that her 'hole life is in trouble and the man is a disgrace, and suggests that she should return to her
husband, 2rs& 6ereira replies, )I don-t feel anything about him& $nd I Fust can-t stand that clean
doctor-s smell he has& It chokes me&+ (p&1G>#&
Iet, 'hen she at last resol(es to lea(e %oni, she intends to go back to her husband 'ho she is confident
'ill take her backC )96enry is like a boy, you kno', and he thinks he can frighten me& If I go back today,
he 'ill be glad to ha(e me back&- $nd saying that, she looked different, and hard&+ (p&1G# 3he
apparently understands her husband (ery 'ell, but doesn-t respect him for thisC 9I ne(er met a man 'ho
liked doing good 'orks so much as 6enry& 6e 'as all for good 'orks and sanitation&- (p&1G#& 6ere,
too, it seems her ideas are romantic, and immature, about 'hat a husband should be like& Iet it seems
she cannot li(e 'ithout the support of a man& %he narrator-s mother-s summing up is masterlyC )Iou
kno'AAall that rubbish&+ (p&1G#& 2rs& 6ereira ought to ha(e been admired for ha(ing the courage to
lea(e %oni& Iet, the fact that she had left a (irtuous husband and a lu1urious lifestyle for someone like
%oni and a life in 2iguel 3treet makes her seem foolish, not a social crusader& 6er decision to return to
her husband is anti!climacticC the lady 'ho had the courage to go against the norms of society for lo(e
did not ha(e the stamina to stick to her plan of action&
%he narrator-s last glimpse of 2rs& ,hristiani tells us that she has succumbed to the security and comfort
of a 'ealthy lifestyle E )2rs& ,hristianiAA&in the garage&+ (p&1GG# In the end, romance in s5ualor and
(iolence 'as too much for the lady&
The Narrator's Mother
%he narrator-s analysis of his mother-s actions is realistic yet lo(ing& We first meet her 'hen 2rs&
6ereira runs into their house after being beaten by %oni& It seems likely that the narrator and his family
li(ed ne1t door& %he narrator-s mother 'as most an1ious to help 2rs& 6ereira, and she tried to do so by
gi(ing the e1ample of her late husband 'ho had been frightened of her& $t first, she tried to use refined
manners and speech in 2rs& 6ereira-s company, but she soon re(erted to her normal self and began to
treat her like any other 'oman of 2iguel 3treet& 3he is a 'ido' 'ho kno's her o'n mind and does not
hesitate to (oice her opinions& 3he is (ery practical and sensible, calling a spade a spade& 3he despises
%oni and cannot understand ho' $ngela can lo(e him& 3he declares that he deser(es a clout on his
backside to make him see sense& 3he is not one to lose her temper easily and remains calm e(en 'hen
$ngela snubs her for gi(ing ad(ice& 3he does not hesitate to tell $ngela that her fanciful ideas of lo(e
are misplaced4 she reinforces her idea by 5uoting the lines from the calypso )Is *o(e *o(e *o(e $lone+
and tells 2rs& 6ereira that she 'as not Jing Ed'ard .III sacrificing her entire life for )the great man+
as she refers to %oni& 6o'e(er, 'hen 2rs& 6ereira comes back to her for support, she does not hold a
grudge or hesitate to offer a sympathetic shoulder& 3he and 2rs& 6ereira became good friends&
3he is (ery helpful and sympathetic to'ards $ngela& 3he is a good listener and listens patiently to
$ngela7s 'oes& 3he comforts her, ad(ises her forcefully and e(en offers her a bed to sleep in 'hen %oni
threatens her 'ith a knife& 3he is good!humoured, ne(er becoming offended that $ngela does not heed
her ad(ice& 6o'e(er, she is too realistic to belie(e the yarns $ngela tells her about %oni being a good
and disciplined man, ha(ing great 'ill po'er and planning to start a hotel in /arbados& 3he considers
this affair as totally nonsense and rubbish and has a 'ise head& We sympathise 'ith her and respect her
strength of character and pragmatism& 6er life had been full of struggle E )Iou kno'AAall that
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rubbish&+ (p&1G# E and she is 'ell a'are of its harsh realities& 3he is by no means helpless& 3he has
struggled in life to raise her son and therefore, she scoffs at the idiocy of infatuation that $ngela has for
%oni& 3he kno's %oni is 'orthless and ad(ises her friend to lea(e him& 3he is a forthright, genuine
friend and 'orth cherishing&
The attitude of the narrator's mother towards love - %he narrator and his family belong t a class of
society 'here people ha(e too many 'orries, about finding food for the table rather than to think about
lo(e& $s she tells 2rs 6ereira, if she had been married at the age of fifteen she 'ould not ha(e her head
full of such nonsense& *i(ing demands a practical attitude so that the stomachs of the family are kept
full& Who has the time or the emotional maturity to think about lo(e4 at fifteen, and once the marriage
takes place, there are the children, and the 'orries of keeping body and soul together&
When the narrator7s mother hears $ngela say that the reason she puts up 'ith %oni is because she lo(es
him, her reaction is, Kis a damn funny sort of lo(eK and in saying that she seems to echo the sentiments
of the readers& 3he continues to say that she K'ouldn7t kno' about heartK and that she is Fust Ktalking my
mindK& When she 5uotes from the song about Jing Ed'ard, she tells $ngela that she is no Jing Ed'ard
and perhaps she means that unlike the king, she cannot afford this sort of passion& 3he points out to
$ngela that she is taking this lo(e business Ka little too farK and suggests calling the police 'hen %oni
hits her& $ngela says she is afraid of the scandal that it 'ould cause& $t the 'ord KscandalK she gets
angry and asks 'hat could be more scandalous than %oni disgracing her& %he practical ad(ice she has for
$ngela is to go back to her husband& %hough she has sympathy for $ngela because she is beaten up by
%oni, she has no sympathy or patience for her grand passion for him& *o(e, according to her is for those
'ho can afford it but for people like her, it is, 77making all this damn fuss about heart and lo(e and all
that rubbishK and she certainly has no time for it 'ith husband gone and children to feed&
Toni
We see %oni from the eyes of young boys of the locality or from the 'ay $ngela talks of him and the
t'o images seem to be in contradiction 'ith each other& %he narrator is talking on behalf of the other
boys and the men of the locality 'hen he says that it 'as difficult to see ho' the refined $ngela could
be in lo(e 'ith a drunken good!for!nothing like him but Kit 'as impossible to imagine him being in lo(e
'ith anybody&K $nd then 'e ha(e $ngela telling us )6e has many good 5ualities you kno'& 6is heart is
in the right place+&
%oni is described as being tall and thin4 his face is ugly, 'ith pink blotches and he is terribly dirty 'ith a
patchy 'hite skin 'hich e(okes repulsion& 6is hands, ho'e(er, are so thin and 'rinkled that the narrator
feels sorry for him& 6e has a fresh 'ound mark abo(e one eye, probably ac5uired 'hen he 'as
torpedoed& 6e had been a sailor in the 'ar and 'hen he 'as inFured, his friend, <r& 6enry ,hristiani had
brought him home, 'here his 'ife $ngela had nursed him and had apparently fallen in lo(e him& /ut
%oni is an ungrateful man 'ho then ran a'ay 'ith his friend7s 'ife&
%oni is a 'orthless, good!for!nothing fello' and is despised by e(eryone& 6e is a drunkard, totally
irresponsible and (iolent& 6e seems to do nothing but drink most of the day and then get (iolent and beat
up $ngela& 6e is not e(en grateful to'ards her considering she had nursed him and left e(erything for
him& 6e ill!treats and insults her& 6e threatens to kill her and e(en made his dog Fump at her& 6e has no
possessions other than a radio 'hich in reality belongs to $ngela& %he readers ne(er learn 'hat the man
has to say or 'hat he feels about things because he is al'ays too drunk to make any sense& $ngela
assures us that he has good 5ualities, that he is 'ell meaning and that during the mornings he is fine& %he
fact that she eloped 'ith him and continues to li(e 'ith him e(en after being physically abused suggests
that he must ha(e some (irtues& %hus, %oni sounds like an enigma, a riddle and a confusing character&
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Ne(ertheless, %oni is a character 'ho e(okes our anger and disgust& <espite $ngela7s good 'ords about
him, it is not easy to think of him in a positi(e light& 6e seems to drink all the time, goes to sleep
any'here in his drunken stupor and he is despised for not being able to carry his li5uor& %he neighbours
are not only re(olted by him but are surprised because they e1pect the 'hites to be better beha(ed than
this& %he men once beat him up in disgust but it seemed to ha(e no effect on him& It 'as strange that a
man 'ho had been through the 'ar and beat up his 'oman regularly and threatened to kill her, 'as so
submissi(e 'hen he 'as thrashed by the men of the locality& 6e took it all 5uietly 'ithout fighting back&
Was he a co'ard, 'as it that he 'as too drunk to care or did he accept it as some kind of punishmentB
%he ans'er is not clear&
%oni does lea(e one 'ondering about 'hat lo(e means to him and if he is actually as black a character
as he appears to be& 6is abuse of $ngela becomes so bad that finally the situation becomes intolerable
for her and she decides to lea(e him4 in fact, she does so& Iet after $ngela lea(es him, he is like a mad
man and he )bayed like a dog and ba'led like a baby&+ 3o perhaps he lo(es her in his o'n crooked 'ay&
%oni o'ns a big dog that looks as ferocious as he does and obeys only the master& 6e is possessi(e
about his dog4 yet 'hen $ngela lea(es him (ents his ire on the poor dog and star(es him& :inally e(en
the animal turns on him and then runs a'ay& $s the dog trots a'ay %oni presents a pathetic picture,
sitting on the road, 'histling and calling his dog, trying to persuade it to come back&
3trangely enough, %oni becomes more (ocal after that& $fter selling the house he 'ould trouble the ne'
o'ner for money saying that they o'ed him rent for the radio& 6e 'ould appeal to the neighbourhood
for support then& 6e soon goes a'ay from 2iguel 3treet, and the narrator remembers seeing him years
later dri(ing a truckC the lasting impression he has are of his thin arms&
The relationshi !et"een Toni an# Mrs. Hereira
*o(e demands total de(otion, sacrifice and understanding& *o(e is a matter of heart and mutual regard
for the feelings of the other party& %he ,alypso songC
KIs lo(e, lo(e, lo(e, alone
%hat cause Jing Ed'ard to lea(e the throneK
$ptly sums up the implicit loyalty and sacrifice in(oked by the theme of lo(e& 2rs& 6ereira82rs&
,hristiani seems to be infatuated 'ith %oni as he offers a stark contrast to her husband, the clean doctor&
*o(e, as they say, is often blind and lo(ers usually (ie' one another and the 'orld through rose!
coloured spectacles& 2rs& 6ereira seems to be the acti(e partner in lo(e& 3he elopes 'ith her husband7s
friend %oni, purchases the house in 2iguel 3treet and they li(e as man and 'ife& 3he sacrifices her
name, family and 'ealth for lo(e& %he besotted lo(er in 2rs& 6ereira is 'illing to gloss o(er all of
%oni-s e1cesses and shortcomings& In fact, she seems to ha(e a completely unrealistic (ie' about his
character and abilities& 3he gradually finds herself disillusioned in lo(e& %he drunken man ne(er sho's
her any lo(e, and is al'ays abusi(e& 6e beha(es like a mad person& :irst he starts beating her& %hen he
threatens to kill her 'ith a knife& 6e frightens her really badly 'hen he lets his dog Fump on her& 2rs&
6ereira realises that life is more important than lo(e& 3o she decides to lea(e %oni and return to her
husband 'hom she had left for her romantic lo(er, %oni&
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