An Introduction to American Fiction Set in India
Fictional Explorations of American Images of India
Apr 21, 2009 Angelina Nachimuthu
American fiction set in India does not easily lend itself to standard literary categories. Scholars have included some of these novels and short-stories as part of the Anglo-Indian Fiction category. Others have included them in the Indic Fiction, and the American Fiction categories. More recent fiction has been categorized as the Indian American Fiction. Largely ignored as a category in itself the American fiction set in India narrates experiences where two cultures meet.
Starting with Francis Marion Crawford’s Mr. Isaacs (1882) India has been part of the American novelist’s imagination until now. Written over a hundred and twenty years, novels and short stories capture American images of and responses to India. They belong to more than one category of fiction as well as more than one overlapping sub-categories.
Themes in American Fiction Set in India
The major themes in American fiction set in India are:
- Religious quests
- Intercultural relationships
- Critique as well as glorification of American missions in India and the British Colonial experience in India
- Critique of Hinduism as well as glorification of Hindu spiritualism
In addition to the above themes, the American fiction set in India also revolves around themes of representations of the other, frontier expansion, women’s rights, adventure and romance.
American Short-Stories Set in India
The earliest American stories set in India are examples of missionary stories. Other stories are stories of romance, Anglo-India, Indian social and religious practices and intercultural relationships. Katherine Mayo’s stories Slaves of the Gods claims to be based on real life. Edison Marshall’s Love Stories of India tells stories of romance in Anglo-India. Robin White’s Foreign Soil presents vignettes of life in India. Winner of American Book Award, Chitra Divakaruni’s Arranged Marriage tells stories of women who are caught between two worlds when they move to America after having arranged marriages.
American Novels Set in India
American novels set in India tell similar stories as the short stories. The earliest novels are missionary novels and the most recent novels are largely written by Indian Americans and deal with intercultural encounters, Indian history, as well as more exotic tales of India. All these novels underscore more effectively the sociological, political and historical commentaries on the Indo-American encounter
Images of India
American fiction set in India reveals similar images of India as described by Harold Isaacs’ Scratches in Our Minds and Nathan Glazer’s Conflicting Images. Isaacs study reveals a spectrum of images and at the same time warns that they are but mere “scratches” because India remains a blurred image. Glazer points out to the greater traffic of ideas since the Isaac study and hopes that it will contribute to a better understanding of each other. The more recent American fiction set in India seem to fulfill this hope.
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