Raman in The Painter of Signs

R.K. Narayan's novel The Painter of Signs is the story of two unique characters whose similarities and differences may be considered symbolic of the issues confronting India today. Daisy is a feminist whose career focuses on helping Indian families control reproduction through family planning. She is a driven woman with a mission based on her understanding of the ways in which unhampered reproduction negatively impacts on the quality of life enjoyed by Indian women and, by extension, their families. Raman, in contrast, is a more conventional Indian male who works as a sign painter in the fictional town of Malgudi. His life intersects with that of Daisy when she gives him a contract to paint signs and murals for the family planning clinics she is opening in the countryside. Inevitably, Raman falls in love with Daisy and wishes for her to become his wife.

It is this determination that introduces one of the central conflicts of the book which centers on the caste system in India. At issue herein is a determination of why readers are sympathetic toward Raman and continue to be so despite the many mistakes he makes as he pursues his dream.

Early in the book, the reader encounters Raman as he attempts to interact rationally with an attorney who has requested a special sign to hang in front of his new office. Narayan (7-10) presents Raman as a concerned artist who knows that if he attempts to rush through creating a sign for this demanding client, neither he nor the

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this very different woman. On the other, he is impacted by the opinion of others, such as his aunt, who believes that Daisy and Raman must share a similar caste if they are to be allowed to marry. This is less significant to Daisy than the fact that she will marry for love if and only if she is able to succeed in achieving her goals before she subordinates herself to the role of a wife and mother (Narayan, 115). Raman accepts many of the limitations that are placed on him by his position in society. However, his attempt to live almost vicariously as a more autonomous actor through Daisy is somewhat endearing because it suggests that he is also driven by a desire to achieve something noteworthy in his life. He is a sign painter but is not truly an artist. He is not likely to make any great and lasting contribution to society and recognizes that his work is only temporary: "Establishing a new enterprise meant only blacking out an old sign and writing a new one in its place" (Narayan, 16). His work, therefore, is only likely to be of value temporarily and what Daisy is setting out to achieve will have a far more permanent effect. Nevertheless, Raman is sympathetic because he seeks to find some consistency and continuity

Category: Literature - R