My Grandmother's House Summary

MY GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE
Kamala Das
The poem, ‘My Grandmother’s House’, first appeared in Kamala Das’s first anthology of verse tled Sum-
mer Time in Calcu a (1965). It is also an autobiographical poem in which the poet’s longing for her paren-
tal house in Malabar is movingly described. She is reminded of the ancestral house where she had re-
ceived immense love and affec on from her grandmother.
The poet’s feminine sensibility finds its clearest loveless rela onships in it. A note of pessimism runs
throughout the ac on of the poem. It reveals the poet’s painful unfulfilled desire to visit her grand-
mother’s house to which she is deeply and emo onally a ached. The poet is shocked to learn that the
house is all in ruin a er the death of her grandmother. She suffers in silence due to the wear and tear it
has undergone in her absence. A death-like silence reigns in her grandmother’s house.
Moreover, the intensity of her grief is sugges vely conveyed by the ellipsis in the form of a few dots in
this sec on of the poem. It was her disenchantment with her loveless marriage that reminded her of her
grandmother’s pure and selfless love. Her heart is itself like a dark window where the fresh air does not
blow. The image of the house has stuck to her mind. The poet has also used the similes of a brooding dog
to show her inability to pay a visit to her grandmother’s house. She has also used sugges ve visu-
al imagery of ‘blind eyes of the windows’ and ‘the frozen air’ to convey the idea of death and despera on.
My Grandmother's House
There is a house now far away where once

I received love……. That woman died,
The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved
Among books, I was then too young
To read, and my blood turned cold like the moon
How o en I think of going
There, to peer through blind eyes of windows or
Just listen to the frozen air,
Or in wild despair, pick an armful of
Darkness to bring it here to lie
Behind my bedroom door like a brooding
Dog…you cannot believe, darling,
Can you, that I lived in such a house and
Was proud, and loved…. I who have lost
My way and beg now at strangers' doors to
Receive love, at least in small change?
Detailed Analysis
Lines 1-5
There is a house now far away where once
(…)
To read, and my blood turned cold like the moon
The poem, ‘My Grandmother’s House’, shows Kamala Das’s intense love and a achment to it. She
suffers from an acute sense of aliena on a er having le this place a er her marriage.
The poet now lives in a big city a er her marriage, a remote place from her grandmother’s house. She is
reminded of her grandmother’s house where she spent her memorable childhood. Ironically, it is the only
place where she received love from her grandmother. The death of the grandmother is even mourned by
the house to which she was emo onally a ached. A death-like silence reigned in the house a er her exit
from this world. It seems that the grandmother was the very soul of this house. Being deserted, the
snakes could be seen among books in the library of the house. At that point in me, she was too young to
read those books which looked quite horrible and repulsive like snakes. She was almost frozen with fear
at the passing away of her grandmother and seemed cold like the moon.
The very opening lines of the poem capture alive the poet’s mood of nostalgia. She is reminded of the
happiest days of her childhood which she spent in the company of her grandmother. She was deeply
a ached to her grandmother who was very caring and affec onate to her. She was emo onally destabi-
lized a er the death of her grandmother and felt almost heart-broken. The intensity of her grief is sugges-
vely conveyed by the ellipse in the form of a few dots in this sec on of the poem. It was her disenchant-
ment with her loveless marriage that reminded her of her grandmother’s pure and selfless love.
Lines 6-12
How o en I think of going
(…)
Dog…
In the above lines of the poem, ‘My Grandmother’s House’, the poet defines her rela onship with her
grandmother in a very moving manner. Kamala Das is reminded of the happiest days of her childhood
which spent with her grandmother. The poet was deeply a ached to her grandmother who was very car-
ing and affec onate to her. She was emo onally sha ered a er the death of her grandmother who had
been the chief source of inspira on in her life.

The poet o en longs to visit her grandmother’s house to which she was emo onally a ached since her
childhood. It has been a place of security and protec on which is sadly missing in her new house in the
city. She would like to peep through the dust-ridden or coloured panes of windows that were shut a er
the death of the grandmother. She would like to listen and feel the s ll atmosphere prevailing in the
house. It is this longing to revisit her grandmother’s house that adds to her sense of frustra on and hope-
lessness. The darkness of her grandmother’s house can have no terrifying impact on her. She would like
to gather some darkness, some memories of the grandmother’s house and bring them to her present city
residence. The very memories of her grandmother’s house will have a soothing impact on her loveless
and hopeless married life.
The poet is in a mood of reminiscence and recreates the plight of the grandmother’s house a er her de-
parture from the scene of life. She gives us the very feel of the house in its state of neglect and deser on.
The poet has used the simile of a brooding dog to show her inability to pay a visit to her grandmother’s
house. She has employed sugges ve visual imagery of ‘blind eyes of the windows’ and ‘the frozen air to
convey the idea of death and despera on.
Lines 12-16
you cannot believe, darling,
(…)
Receive love, at least in small change?
In these lines of ‘My Grandmother’s House’, the poet says how her frustra on and disenchantment in the
marital life forced her to go into for an extra-marital rela onship. The poet o en longs to visit her grand-
mother’s house to which she was emo onally a ached since her childhood. Unlike her miserable city life
with her husband, it had been a place of security and genuine love for her.
Here the poet informs her dear husband that he can never believe the intensity of love that she received
from her grandmother. He can never realize that she was extremely proud of her grandmother’s house
where she was deeply loved by her grandmother. It is her separa on from her grandmother’s house a er
marriage that has ruined her life forever. It is loveless and hopeless married life that has crippled her
sense of pride and love which she used to have in her grandmother’s house. She has become a beggar for
love who knocks helplessly at strangers’ doors to receive at least in a small measure. She has almost lost
her way in search of genuine and selfless love.

Kamala Das exposes the fu lity of loveless and hopeless marital rela onships in these five concluding
lines of the poem. It shows the agony and humilia on of a married woman who is forced to seek extra-
marital rela onships to seek love for her emo onal sa sfac on. It is the mood of nostalgia that domi-
nates the closing phase of the poem. The poet is reminded of her grandmother’s house where received
love and safety in her childhood. She has lost all her iden ty and freedom in her loveless rela onship.

My Grandmother's House Summary

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

My Grandmother's House Summary

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

My Grandmother's House Summary

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

MY GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE

There is a house now far away where once

been the chief source of inspira on in her life.

you cannot believe, darling,

her way in search of genuine and selﬂess love.

You might also like