Trauma and Forbidden Love in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things

This article explores the trauma and forbidden love in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things, focusing on the characters of Rahel and Estha and their involvement in incest. It also examines the role of social discrimination and the setting in the progression of the storyline.

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Arundhati Roy’s novel is predominantly a story of both quietness and emptiness. Roy
recounts the fictional lives of Rahel, Estha, their divorced mother, Ammu and Velutha alongside
the lives of other characters. The text predominantly explores the traumatic events that
characterize the lives of the characters. Chief among all traumas is the experience of the twins
(Rahel and Estha) whose posttraumatic effects make them engage in unethical sexual behavior
(incest). The twins have a haunting past for having led a turbulent childhood characterized by all
sorts of mysteries. They grow guilty of their past and can hardly maintain a meaningful
relationship with the outside world. The death of Velutha and their mother Ammu could be
blamed on their actions. The twins accept to be manipulated by Baby Kochamma who has
developed hatred to Velutha. She does everything to ensure that her bad intentions are not
realized.
The trauma of the twins in the novel is displayed as a product of social discrimination,
fate, and involvement in forbidden love. The trauma of the twins has its roots in social
discrimination. Ideally, if Baby Kochamma had not blamed her humiliation on Velutha, the
tensions leading to the trauma would have been minimized. Her hatred to Velutha is the source
of the children’s mischievous behavior. Velutha is a communist and does not share in the
sentiments of the employer’s family. He joins fellow communists in protests which accounts for
his clash with Baby Kochamma (Roy 32). The trauma in the text could also be viewed as a

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predetermined aspect. Even though the twins try to escape their misfortune when their mother is
locked up, their attempt stirs even more tension, the drowning of Sophia. Additionally, the
children’s trauma linked to the separation of their mother would be blamed on the forbidden
love. Ammu’s involvement with Velutha leads to Baby Kochamma dragging her to the mess.
Even though the novel gives an account of several unacceptable relationships, Velutha’s and
Ammu’s relationship is the most unconventional. Roy creates the implication that the two will
end up being punished severely for their transgression.
Both the temporal and spatial settings of the events have a far-reaching effect on the
trauma of the twin as well as the progression of the entire storyline. Mainly, the events occur in a
village, Ayemenem in India (Roy 18). Most of the events take place in 1969, a period when India
is fully unable to handle diversity and societies exist within a strict caste system. Class
consciousness, to a great extent, acts as a motivation to the behavior of the characters. It leads to
discrimination which consequently yields the trauma of the twins. The characters in the book
present very different traits a fact which propels the events towards unresolved tensions. The
differences among the characters explain why they treat one another the way they do. Baby
Kochamma, for instance, does not care about anyone due to her unpleasant past and does
anything to see all the other characters suffer. This hatred in her is a driving force to the trauma
experienced by the twins. She ensures that Velutha dies, their mother is kicked out of the house
and that the twins are separated. The varying personalities steer up differences, tear up family
unit consequently leading to a series of traumas with the twins emerging to be the top victims.
The symbol of banana jam is recurrent in the play and exemplifies how the characters
will break the laws of the relationships, a transgression which will result in their downfall (Roy
39). In the case of the twins, despite them knowing the laws of love, they go ahead to involve

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themselves in incest, the greatest dilemma, and suspense in the text. This way, the laws of love
are challenged just in the same way firms challenge the Food Products Organization’s ban on the
banana jam. The challenging of the laws governing the society leads to the trauma. The idea of
the touchables mingling with the untouchables leads to the set in of traumatic events. The twins, t
a great extent, suffer due to the affair between their mother and Velutha.
Critically, the trauma witnessed by the twins is not within the plot of the novel but rather
an imposition by something beyond the events in the novel. The tw3ins do not appear to grief or
regret their past. Once they have found an avenue to restore their happiness, they go ahead to do
so. At the end of the novel, the twins discover that they are perfect together and go ahead to
embrace their togetherness. Hence, the plot does not recount a single incident of trauma within
the twins. Rather, the reader’s involvement with the characters makes trauma an apparent aspect.
In response to the perceived trauma, the twins resolve into engaging in a love affair.
Their response is however awkward following the social norms of all societies. Incest is highly
discouraged and has serious repercussions to the involved. Hence, their response to trauma is not
well-thought. As a reader, the action left me discontented. As much as I had wanted to see the
twins recollect their lives and live happily, I did not want it 5this way. A more conventional
manner would have left me convinced.

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Work Cited
Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. IndiaInk, 1997.