posted on 04 May 2018

The Nature of Passion by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Jhabvala is probably best known for her Booker prize-winning novel, Heat and Dust, which explores the parallels between modern and colonial India and which was turned into a successful movie by Ismail Merchant and James Ivory. In fact this was just one example of what would turn out to be a significant collaboration between Jhabvala and the two film-makers that has resulted in the author being the main or associate scriptwriter on dozens of Merchant Ivory productions.

The Nature of Passion however, predates that relationship and was Jhabvala’s second novel published in 1956. Somewhat irritatingly and rather predictably both her subject matter and prose style always seem to attract comparisons with Jane Austen or E.M.Forster but I can’t help but think these are rather lazy assessments because, for me, Jhabvala has a voice uniquely her own.

Nowhere is the blend of acute observation, puckish humour, social satire and compelling characterisation more elegantly achieved than in this book. But it is her mastery of style that really makes this such a joy to read – the prose simply flows in a frictionless way that keeps you turning the pages. The lives of her characters jump into sharp focus without having to resort to improbable events or melodrama to keep you engaged.

The relative simplicity of the storyline hides the complexity of the issues she is dealing with. It’s a tale of what happens to families when old, colonial Indian cultural and religious traditions come into conflict with a younger generation who are increasingly drawn to a more modern, Western way of life. Lala Narayan Dass Verma (usually referred to as Lalaji) is the self-made and extremely rich head of a household that he rules over in the traditional way. The women all know their place, marriages are arranged and the pampered boys are primed to follow their father into his business. Lalaji has become rich by building good business networks and amongst his collaborators and his competitors a tradition of corruption has grown up that secures their position at the top of the hierarchy.

For the men business and status in the world are everything they think about but for the women, honour and being seen to be the finest, the richest or the best are the subjects of constant concern and the cause of bickering between the in-laws and within the generations that live together. For Laliji, expanding his family and making them as rich as he is has become his goal in life.

However, two things threaten the family’s regal passage through life. The new government is threatening a clampdown on corruption and there is evidence in the form of an indiscreet letter linking Lalaji to a headline corruption scandal. On top of that, the younger members of the family – Viddi (who desperately wants to go to live in Europe for a while and pursue his interest in art) and Nimmi ( who wants to cut her hair and flirt with handsome boys at the country club) are causing friction in the household.

Lalaji’s problem with the rogue letter can be solved if his son, Chandra Prakash, who is a civil servant makes the letter ‘disappear’ but can Lalaji persuade him to take the step that will draw him into the corrupt practices of the past? Can Viddi be convinced that it’s time to give up his dream of Europe if enough wealth is dangled in front of his eyes? And can the problem of Nimmi be solved by an arranged marriage that will also seal a huge business deal?

Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out. But Jhabvala makes the unfolding of the story easy to engage with even though all the threads are interwoven and ultimately complex. She manages to create a family that is like a tower of inter-related blocks held together by culture and tradition and you can’t escape the feeling that if you remove one of these blocks the whole lot will come tumbling down.

I really loved this book and I personally think it’s a finer achievement than Heat and Dust. Jhabvala understands how to build up from small observations to big transcending issues of culture and politics and this often results in some of the most superb observational prose.

If you haven’t, you really must give this a try.

 

Terry Potter

May 2018