Preinhaelterová, Hana: Break-up of the Traditional Hindu Family as Reflected in Asapurna Debi's Short Stories. 72 pp. Prague: Charles University, Faculty of Arts, 1995.
ISBN 80-85899-09-4
Joint family and its disintegration has been the most frequented topic of the modern Bengali fiction since its birth in the 19th century. Among the contemporary writers, it is Asapurna Debi (1909-1995) who deals with the problem in the most thorough and perhaps most successful way. Two of the many aspects of family relations tackled by her are worked out with remarkable refinement: the generation conflict and the entry of women into public life. Although Asapurna is a superb story-teller, her narratives culminate psychologically and not in an epic manner, often by means of the hero's sudden epiphany. The present publication analyses the author's methods and shows that Asapurna, with her first-hand experience of the problems of family life and with her impartial, pragmatic and humane attitude to their solution, serves as a fine example of a good woman writer. To be used by librarians, specialists in Indian, and especially Bengali literature.