[In Kanthapura,] Raja Rao has abandoned his position as story teller, giving it over to his fictive female persona [Achakka]. I can think of few other instances in Third World fiction where a male novelist has done this. (p. 134)
With the exception of Afro-American fiction, I would have to say that in most Third World novels female characters play lesser roles than their male counterparts—no doubt in large part because Western (romantic) love is missing as a theme. If women are present in any of these books, they tend to be of incidental importance, functional objects in an otherwise masculine-oriented world….
This is a free excerpt of 101 words. There are 1,426 words (approx.
5 pages at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Rao, Raja 1909–: Critical Essay by Charles R. Larson Access Pass.
