Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and the movie Kya Kehna
This post is in response to the questions asked here
Literature, no matter in what language it is written, is considered to possess a relevance across time and space. Taking this into consideration, it isn't shocking to find that a English novel and a Bollywood (Hindi Cinema) movie, belonging to two different time frames and cultures, though not completely similar, share many things in common.
Let me give you a brief idea regarding the movie Kya Kehna, since The Scarlet Letter is much well known text for all literature students. The movie is directed by Kundan Shah and was released in India in the year 2000. Let me also remind you that the movie is neither based on the novel nor is it an adaptation of the same. Secondly, the comparison here is made only for the better understanding the thematic similarities shared by both the texts. Click here to read about the movie
Answers of questions 1,2,3, and 4:
Both the texts deal in their own unique way with entangled relationships. While, in the movie it is quite easy to point out the protagonist, i.e Priya Bakshi, it becomes a bit difficult to do the same in the novel. Though Hester Prynne remains at the center of Hawthorne's narrative, the novel presents a detailed description of the other two characters i.e Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale share equal part in the same. The novel also presents some description of Hester's child i.e Pearl's psyche through the questions she asks. The point where both the texts seem to share a common ground however, is when both the female characters are put against the socio-cultural set up of their time. Both the texts portray in their own way, what the society as well as culture at large, the characters belong to, consider right and wrong. How do the same socio-cultural set-up understands, as well as normalize institutions like marriage and class distinctions, also becomes a point of similarity between the texts. A fact that appears quite intriguing.
Literature, no matter in what language it is written, is considered to possess a relevance across time and space. Taking this into consideration, it isn't shocking to find that a English novel and a Bollywood (Hindi Cinema) movie, belonging to two different time frames and cultures, though not completely similar, share many things in common.
Let me give you a brief idea regarding the movie Kya Kehna, since The Scarlet Letter is much well known text for all literature students. The movie is directed by Kundan Shah and was released in India in the year 2000. Let me also remind you that the movie is neither based on the novel nor is it an adaptation of the same. Secondly, the comparison here is made only for the better understanding the thematic similarities shared by both the texts. Click here to read about the movie
Answers of questions 1,2,3, and 4:
Both the texts deal in their own unique way with entangled relationships. While, in the movie it is quite easy to point out the protagonist, i.e Priya Bakshi, it becomes a bit difficult to do the same in the novel. Though Hester Prynne remains at the center of Hawthorne's narrative, the novel presents a detailed description of the other two characters i.e Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale share equal part in the same. The novel also presents some description of Hester's child i.e Pearl's psyche through the questions she asks. The point where both the texts seem to share a common ground however, is when both the female characters are put against the socio-cultural set up of their time. Both the texts portray in their own way, what the society as well as culture at large, the characters belong to, consider right and wrong. How do the same socio-cultural set-up understands, as well as normalize institutions like marriage and class distinctions, also becomes a point of similarity between the texts. A fact that appears quite intriguing.
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