When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife Summary
Meena Kandasamy

When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife Overview

When I Hit You: Or, a Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife is a work of fiction written by Meena Kandasamy. It is set in modern day India and serves as an indictment against both domestic abuse and the ways in which abusive marriages are maintained by Indian society. It follows the four-month marriage of the narrator and her husband. None of the characters are given names in an attempt to universalize the message the writer is attempting to convey. The novel opens with the narrator having escaped her abusive situation and then goes back in time to explore what factors play into the choice a woman makes to stay in such a situation. Key themes include the idea that rape is not about pleasure but about control, the extent to which words can dehumanize, the reasons women stay in abusive relationships, the role of shame in upholding traditional Indian marriages, and the importance of self-expression.