The Holder Of The World



Scarlett Letter

For class we have recently read the novel Holder of the World, by the author Bharati Mukherjee. Since the moment I opened up the book and began to read I was intrigued at the novel and how much similarity that the book had to Scarlett letter, the last book that we read. However even though both had many similarities, some of the examples that the book illustrates goes hand in hand with many of the numerous theorists that we have analyzed this semester; it was very interesting to see how Bharati’s novel was merely a re-write of the Scarlett letter. Although there are obvious examples of a correlation between two books such as a character named Hester and another with the name Prynne, the use of Salem as well as the puritan society, the fact that this novel seemed to challenge Scarlett letter is what really got me interested in reading more.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

For example, the line on page 284 which states “Who can blame Nathaniel Hawthorne for shying away from the real story of the brave Salem mother and her illegitimate daughter”? As I read deeper into the text and began to see how the novel transform into its own interpretation of Scarlett letter it really opened my eyes to the idea of representation, space, symbol, as well as the fact that over time a stories interpretation or meaning can be altered as well as the idea that other outlooks on something can be discovered.  For example, Holder of The World portrays use of time and space by representing the 18^th century to the 1980’s of Salem, Massachusetts to England as well as India all in one novel. By doing so this allows for it to be looked upon as being rebellious to the style of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book.  In regards to representation, in the novel by Bharati, the use of symbol and representation were used similarly to Hawthorne’s, letter A, however instead of the letter representing Adulterer the novel instead created “Indian Lover” as a representation for what Bharati’s newer interpretation was.




Bharati Mukherjee

With this in mind I really started to question how I would change Scarlett Letter in a way that would be interesting as well as incorporate the use of representation, space, symbolism, as well as modern examples in today’s society and numerous thoughts came to mind. I could for example create a situation where there is a single father and the tables are turned from the typical stereotype of a single mother, or maybe even have a black man “knock up” an upper-class white woman during the extreme prejudice times of the Jim Crow era. 
Though these seem to be bizarre and very extreme in regards to Hawthorne’s Scarlett Letter, there is a great deal of ways in which these ideas of representation, space, symbol, as well as going against the norm are illustrated. With this in mind and after reading the novel The Holder of The World it is clear to see how various interpretations can come to light with a change in time as well as perspective. Though both this book as well as Scarlett Letter are great works of literature and history, the fact that both are so different yet also so similar at the same times really is captivating and shows how present the theories that we have talked about over the course of the semester are really present in this novel.