Wife's Holiday
Malgudi Days by R. K. Narayan
Chapter Summary- What Happens?
A poor coconut picker named Kannan has his wife go to visit her parents. While she is away, he becomes less motivated and lazier. The chapter begins with him sitting around at the door of his hut talking briefly to a friend about how they should go play dice in the ruins that day. He then reflects that if his wife were there she wouldn’t let him sit around so unproductively and wastefully. He hates his job of picking coconuts and only is paid about one rupee per day.
Meaning of the story- Who Cares?
Quotations and Analysis
“But the worst of it was that he had not a quarter of an anna anywhere about him and he wouldn’t see a coin unless he climbed some trees for it today.” Page 131
This quotation shows his perception of earning. He talks like he expects the money to come without effort, rather than working hard to earn it. It isn’t that he is poor or desperate, but that he expects everything to be given to him.
“At Mantapam luck deserted him, or rather never came with him. Within a short while he had lost all his money. He continued on credit for a while till someone suggested he should give up his seat to someone else more solvent.” Page 133
This quotation shows Kannan’s nature. Literally, it is saying that at the ruins, he spent all of his money on their game of dice. And he continued to spend more and more until he was gambling money that he never even had. It shows that he did not value money in the right way either.
“He watched her in a sort of dull panic. Her box with all its contents scattered, the god’s picture on the floor, the battered red tin-she would see them all the at once the moment she stepped in.” Page 134
This passage shows the results of his poor decisions and what fruit they will bear. It shows his remorse his actions but shows that is still corrupted. He will wait for it to become known than rather confess and think of how make amends not just monetarily but emotionally to his family who will probably feel violated, used, and abused as they will think he views them as less than he views himself.