The English Teacher is a 1945 novel written by R. K.

Narayan. This is the third and final part in the series,

preceded by Swami and Friends (1935) and The
Bachelor of Arts (1937).
This novel, dedicated to Narayan's wife Rajam is not
only autobiographical but also poignant in its intensity
of feeling. The story is a series of experiences in the life
of Krishna, an English teacher, and his quest towards
achieving inner peace and self-development.[1]

Plot introduction

Krishna is an English lecturer at the Albert Mission

College. For several years he has enjoyed a bachelor's
life, but this changes when his wife, Susila, and their
child, Leela, move in with him. Krishna's life expands to
include the happy domesticity of living with his wife
and child: nearly half the novel focuses on the
mundane joy of his day-to-day experiences with his
family. However, one day Susila contracts typhoid after
visiting a dirty lavatory and dies from the illness.
Krishna is destroyed by her loss but receives a letter
from a stranger indicating that Susila has been in
contact with him and wishes to communicate with
Krishna.

Plot summary

As an English teacher at Albert Mission College, Krishna

has led a mundane and monotonous lifestyle
comparable to that of a cow, but this took a turn when
his wife, Susila, and their child, Leela, come to live with
him. With their welfare on his hands, Krishna learns to
be a proper husband and learns how to accept the
responsibility of taking care of his family. He felt that
his life had comparatively improved, as he understood
that there's more meaning to life than to just teaching
in the college. However, on the day when they went in
search of a new house, Susila contracts typhoid after
visiting a dirty lavatory, keeping her in bed for weeks.
Throughout the entire course of her illness, Krishna
constantly tries to keep an optimistic view about
Susila's illness, keeping his hopes up by thinking that
her illness would soon be cured. However, Susila
eventually succumbs and passes away. Krishna,
destroyed by his loss, had suicidal thoughts but gave
them up for the sake of his daughter, Leela. He led his
life as a lost and miserable person after her death, but
after he received a letter from a stranger who indicated
that Susila has been in contact with him and that she
wanted to communicate with Krishna, he became more
collected and cheerful. This leads to Krishna’s journey
in search of enlightenment, with the stranger acting as
a medium to Susila in the spiritual world. Leela, on the
other hand, goes to a preschool where Krishna gets to
meet the Headmaster, a profound man who cared for
the students in his school and teaches them moral
values through his own methods. The Headmaster puts
his students as his top priority but he doesn’t care for
his own family and children, eventually leaving them on
the day predicted by an astrologer as to be when he
was going to die, which did not come true. Krishna gets
to learn through the Headmaster on the journey to
enlightenment; eventually learning to communicate to
Susila on his own, thus concluding the entire story
itself, with the quote that he felt 'a moment of rare
immutable joy'.

Literary significance and criticism

The synopsis at the back of 'The English Teacher' by

Indian Thought Publications say, "Never has the
magical storyteller of imaginary Malgudi woven tragedy
and humour so deftly together."

About the Author

Rasipuram, Krishnaswami Narayanaswami, or R K

Narayan as he is widely known was born during the
British colonial rule in India. In his obituary Barbara
Crosette writes about Narayan and Malgudi thus: 'In the
1930's, he (RK Narayan) created a town in South India
that he called Malgudi and populated it with characters
who could be fussy, tricky, harmlessly rebellious or
philosophical - but who were always believable. Mr.
Narayan would return again and again to Malgudi in
many of his 34 novels and hundreds of short stories.
His books accurately portray an India that hovers
between the unchangingly rural and the newly
industrial and that is still filled with individualistic, often
eccentric personalities that recall his imagined
universe.'

This novel is however more autobiographical than

others. It recounts Narayan's own happy days with his
wife Rajam, who died after contracting typhoid. They
had only 5 short years before she passed away. He
sincerely and truly loved her, and after her demise
Narayan plunged into a period of 'darkness' and was
obsessed by the thought of communicating with her.
One of the glaring facts that meets the reader's eye is
the restrain with which the married couple express
their love so unlike the demonstrative love that is seen
today both in real life and the media.

Dialogues

Krishna the central character of the novel is an English

teacher at the same college he attended as an under
graduate student. Krishna's wife Susila is with her
parents, some miles away as she had recently given
birth to their daughter Leela. (It is an Indian custom
that a pregnant mother should stay with her own
mother, and the midwife still takes precedence over a
hospital, a doctor or nurse). When the story opens we
see a very nervous and anxious Krishna expecting the
arrival of his wife and daughter to Malgudi where he is
an English Teacher in the Albert Mission College. His
visions of the misfortunes that would befall on mother
and child on their train journey are almost comical to
the point of being preposterous.

However, as the days go by Krishna learns that his love

for his wife and child surpasses everything he imagined
previously. The early years of marital bliss and the
deep bond that develops between the husband and
wife becomes the center of Krishna's life. He feels
Leela, his daughter completes his perfect world. But as
all good things must come to an end, so does his, with
the mysterious ailment that comes over Susila. In the
days before antibiotics were discovered, it was not until
late that a proper diagnosis was made as to the exact
nature of the ailment, which they later learned was
typhoid. After a long period of illness she finally dies
bringing nothing but sorrow and misery to Krishna. His
grief was boundless and infinite; Krishna almost sank to
the depths of melancholy and desolation. He then
decided to put all his love and zest for life to bringing
up his daughter who in her innocence did not know or
question about her mother. He became both mother
and father to the child and did not wish his parents to
bring her up. Although eventually after a period of time
relents and decides that the best course of action is for
his parents to bring up Leela.

Events take an unexpected turn when he is able to

'communicate' with his dead wife through a medium.
This brings him solace and he lives to 'communicate'
with her during the weekly 'sittings' as he calls them. It
is unknown why Narayan included an episode such as
this, full of the fantastic, to an otherwise 'believable'
story. However it is a known fact that he was obsessed
by the thought of communicating with his own wife, in
his misery. This puzzles the reader, especially the
Western reader, who is brought up with a solid disbelief
of anything from the nether world. Though to the Indian
reader, and most importantly to Narayan, who actually
experienced this tragedy and wrote after it, the
communication between his dead wife and himself was
nothing out of the ordinary, but a means of achieving
solace and reconciling life and death as we see at the
end of the novel.

From a man dependent on his wife and daughter for

happiness, and later the medium he becomes self-
reliant and realizes that happiness- or in his case peace
of mind and equanimity comes from within. He strives
to achieve this sense of peace, very unlike the
effervescent one he experienced with his wife and
daughter, through meditation and 'withdrawing from
adult world and adult work into the world of children.'
But this serenity, the 'inner peace' that so eludes him
at first comes to him when he least expects it, in the
middle of the night when he has given up everything -
cleansed himself of all worldly possessions, his wife, his
daughter, a good income in the form of a respected job
and salary. He truly transcends life and death when he
is finally able to communicate with Susila his wife, and
now his mentor. Narayan explains it thus: "The
boundaries of our personalities suddenly dissolved. It
was a moment of rare, immutable joy - a moment for
which one feels grateful for Life and Death.
While literary critics argue about the exact nature of
this 'meeting' stating that it is real, unreal, unbelievable
& dreamlike; it is more appropriate to view in terms of
Krishna's inner self-development. He has finally
reached that stage of self-reliance, where he is able to
be whole by himself, to find happiness within, where he
believes his dearest wife, his companion in life, is with
him always.

From predictability to unpredictability.

Krishnan repeatedly finds himself being drawn out of

situations which ought to have been predictable and
ordered by events which are spontaneous and
unpredictable, and it is clear that he finds spontaneity
and unpredictability to be stimulating and life-
enhancing, while predictability and order, although
providing a cushion of comfort and security, is
ultimately stifling and deadening

Susila, his wife, brings unpredictability into his life at

every turn. For example when they go to look at a
house she wants to make a long diversion to walk by
the river and bathe her feet, where the rational orderly
Krishnan would have naturally taken the most direct
route, and it is clear that he finds her unpredictable
behaviour a source of delight and inspiration.

The turning point of the story arises from Susila's

unpredictability. When they go to look at the house we
could not possibly predict that she would go for a walk
on her own, get stuck in a contaminated lavatory, and
then become ill.
The futility of clinging to the belief that life can be
orderly, predictable, and knowable is shown in two
central, and symmetrical, predictions which occupy a
prominent place in the novel. The first is the doctor’s
assertion that typhoid, which Susila has contracted, ‘is
the one fever which goes strictly by its own rules. It
follows a time-table‘ and that Susila will be well in a few
weeks. But in spite of his further assurances that her
attack is ‘Absolutely normal course. No complications. A
perfect typhoid run' Susila dies.

The other prominent demonstration of the futility of

believing that life can be knowable and predictable is
seen in the headmaster's belief in a prediction made by
an astrologer, 'who can see past present and future as
one, and give everything its true value' that he will die
on a given date. But although (just as the doctor had
asserted that Susila's typhoid was 'A perfect typhoid
run') the headmaster has found that his 'life has gone
precisely as he predicted', the headmaster lives.

Both of these episodes show the limitations of man’s

ability to know and predict the world. The truth is that
we cannot know, and cannot predict, and any view of
life, whether deriving from modern western science, or
ancient eastern mysticism, which disregards the
unknowable and sees only what is supposedly known,
and supposedly predictable, is hopelessly inadequate.

From the academic world to the 'law of life'

While these episodes fail to provide Krishnan with

anything rational to believe in, they do bring him face
to face with the reality of life and death, and
confronting the realities of life without retreating into
the safe cerebral world of literature and philosophy is
an important component of his journey.
In coming to terms with the death of his wife literature,
philosophy, and rationalism, are no use to him. They
are all illusions, and the journey he is on involves
leaving illusions behind. The truth Krishnan wants to
discover cannot be found in Shakespeare, Carlyle, or
Plato, it is found only among real people leading real
lives, it is 'the law of life'.

From adulthood to childhood

Children are very much in evidence throughout 'The

English Teacher', and are important guides for Krishnan
on his journey. The children who help to show him the
way are the younger children, his own daughter, Leela,
and the children at the nursery school she attends.

The most prominent character in the novel, after

Krishnan and his family, is the headmaster of Leela's
school. He is a champion of childhood, having devoted
his life to children since receiving the prediction that he
would die, and believes they are ‘angels’, ‘the real gods
on earth’, and employs what he calls ‘The Leave Alone
System’ in his school.

In the second half of the novel Krishnan’s discovery of

children as an effective countermeasure against ‘the
curse of adulthood’, and the opening of his mind that
he is experiencing through meditation, pave the way
for his resignation from his old job and the adoption of
a more genuine lifestyle.

From west to east

Another component of Krishnan's journey is that he

encounters the coexistence of western and native
cultural attitudes, which also represent the attitudes of
Indians of a newer and older generation. For example
when Susila is ill she is treated both by a doctor who
practises western scientific medicine, and by a Swamiji
who uses mystical methods of healing. The Swamiji is
summoned by Susila’s mother, representing an older
generation than Krishnan himself, who believes the
‘Evil Eye’ has fallen on her daughter, and it is notable
that Krishnan feels ‘ashamed’ that the doctor finds the
Swamiji in the house, showing that he is alienated from,
and embarrassed by, the native culture of the older
generation of his own country.

The final stage of Krishnan’s journey takes him further

from the from the western intellectual frame of mind,
inherited from the British, in which he was embedded
at the opening of the novel, and further towards native
Indian spiritual practices. To reach his goal of ‘a
harmonious existence’ he takes up his deceased wife’s
psychically-communicated challenge, which he receives
initially through a medium, to develop his mind
sufficiently to communicate with her psychically
himself, and bridge the gap between life and life-after-
death. Although initially he had been bemused by his
wife’s devotional practices, mocking her with ‘Oh!
Becoming a yogi!’ he now relies on her to guide him,
from beyond the grave, in his ‘self-development’.

In the final chapter the issues of the novel come to a

head with Krishnan’s resignation from his post as
English teacher and his psychic reunion with his wife. In
his attack on the system he is rebelling against he
criticises not English Literature itself 'for who could be
insensible to Shakespeare’s sonnets, or Ode to the
West Wind’ but India’s adherence to an educational
system which stifles the spirit of its students and
alienates them from their native culture:

BASIC PLOT
“The English Teacher”, written by R.K. Narayan tells a
story of an English-teaching college professor, namely
Krishna who leads a mundane, routine hostel life, even
though he had recently been married and has a kid.
The story pulls off by when his immediate family at
Malgudi advise him to settle down in a rented home
with his wife (Susila) and his girl infant (Leela). Though
initially, the new state of affairs does scare him, with
time, his love for his wife and kid deepens and like any
other small closely-knit family, the three of them
become inseparable. All’s well when one day Krishna
and Susila set off to find a new place for themselves
and quite unpredictably, Susila gets terribly bitten by
unknown species of insects after which she develops an
incurable bout of typhoid which results in her untimely
death on bed. Krishna’s life thereafter, is in pieces as
he finds that with Susila, has gone his loveliest part of
life. Depressed, saddened, Krishna becomes a person
with a soul gone astray; a hardened receptacle of
condolence and sympathy, when one day he receives a
letter. What follows is a series of unbelievable
supernatural accounts, which will have you hooked till
the climax. What is in that letter? Is Susila still alive?
Does Krishna become successful as a single parent? For
all these answers, you have to read the book. You
might get a taste of what happens next in my review
further, but I have tried to keep the suspense part in
wraps.

MY VIEWS:

What instantly makes “The English Teacher” likeable is

its cohesive story-line. There’s primarily one plot, that
of Krishna’s family, and even though scores of
characters enter the frame, they are described in a way
they affect Krishna’s life. However much description the
stray characters may demand, they still remain
relegated to the background, with Krishna, Susila and
Leela hogging all the limelight as the principal
characters here. The style of narrative is life-like and
light in the first pages, and becomes heady and over
bearing in the second. Ample relief comes in the form
of Leela’s character who tugs at your heart everytime
she interprets something vaguely with her naviety and
innocence.

The story pulls off neatly with Krishna adjusting himself

to the daily chores. With sly bits of humour and an
ample doze of domesticity being thrown in, the first few
pages are a delight. The author masterfully sets the
mood where the reader is transformed into a small,
beautiful world of Krishna’s family, and by giving
chunks of description of their daily chores, make the
characters instantly identifiable and likeable. What
follows then is a heart-rending description of Susila’s
deterioration, which is so vividly deciphered, that it
lingers on for days after you have read the book. Of
course, the meatiest and probably the most fruitful
phase of the book starts after Susila’s death, when
Krishna has supernatural encounters via a farmer. The
way the encounters have been written, completely
leaves the reader numb.

For a taster read this:

“He (the farmer) poised his pencil over the pad and
waited. Suddenly the pencil began to move. Letters
appeared on paper. The pencil quivered, as if with life.
It moved at a terrific speed across the paper. It
scratched the paper and tore the lines up into shreds
and came through. It seemed to be possessed with
immense power. My friend said with a smile...”

The best thing about all the encounters described was

that they had a positive effect on Krishna’s life, they
made him more developed as a human being and is not
just there to instigate cheap thrills or horror. Besides,
the descriptions of the after-life and the other world are
so well penned, that they leave you speechless. What
also astonishes is the way the novel progresses. The
story doesn’t seem to be authored, but merely
transcribed by the bounds of fate (as in real life),
making it look more autobiographical (I read in R.K.
Narayan’s autobiography—My Days, that this book is
actually semi-autobiographical, and that the
experiences mentioned are true, and date back when
he lost his real wife—Rajam).

Characterisation: *****
Brilliant is the word. All the characters in the book are
so wonderfully fleshed out and presented in such a
crystalline manner, that each of them leaves a lasting
effect. Be it the plethora of emotions that Krishna goes
through, or the helplessness of Susila in her last days,
or for that matter even Leela’s purity and innocence as
a child, every character is extremely well-etched.
Besides, sewing in private reflections of Krishna brings
the reader even more closer to each of the characters,
as he sees each of them through Krishna’s eyes. Scores
of other characters like Leela’s headmaster, Krishna’s
parents and Susila’s parents register an equally deep
impact on the reader’s psyche.

Language and Literature Value: ****

The English Teacher would have probably been way off
the mark, had it not been for Narayan’s flawless
language. The language is devoid of any unnecessary
pompousness and grandiose that is so very visible in
today’s authors. A fabulous command over the medium
means that it does satiate the reader’s literary buds.
From the domestic details in the first half to the
excruciating agony of Susila’s death and then the
positivity in the supernatural second half, a fabulous
flow is thoroughly maintained with an inexplicable
blend of subtle humour and strained tragedy. Vividity in
language is also in full form, which makes the book
highly page-turning.

SOME FINAL WORDS....

Even though I had loved R.K. Narayan’s other works,
this one will always hold a special place in my heart.
For it displays love in its purest form. The love that
binds Susila to Krishna to Leela. So pure is their love,
that even mortality doesn’t snatch away any of its dew-
drop freshness and in turn make it eternal. The
characters or the scores aren’t settled. Their feelings,
their desires are dissolved, recycled and restated...and
in a very novel way, the story shows how love can
make a person...a better human being

Book information

A paperback edition was issued in Chicago by the

University of Chicago Press in 1980 with ISBN 0-226-
56835-0. Many other editions have been issued in other
countries by several other publishers. It was published
in the U.S. as Grateful to Life and Death in 1953 by The
Michigan State College Press.

References

1. ^ Iranga Fernando,
www.wmich.edu/dialogues/texts/englishteacher

Works by R. K. Narayan

Novels Swami and Friends · The Bachelor of Arts ·

The Dark Room · The English Teacher · Mr.
 Sampath - The Printer of Malgudi · The
Financial Expert · Waiting for the Mahatma ·
The Guide · The Man-Eater of Malgudi · The
Vendor of Sweets · The Painter of Signs · A
Tiger for Malgudi · Talkative Man · The World
of Nagaraj

Short
The World of Malgudi · Under the Banyan Tree
story
and Other Stories · The Grandmother's Tale
collectio
and Selected Stories
ns

"Dodu and Other Stories" · "Cyclone and

Other Stories" · "An Astrologer's Day and
Short Other Short Stories" · "Lawley Road and Other
stories Stories" · "A Horse and Two Goats" · "Malgudi
Days" · "Under the Banyan Tree " · "The
Grandmother's Tale"

Next Sunday · My Dateless Diary · My Days ·

The Emerald Route · A Writer's Nightmare ·
Non-
Like The Sun
fiction
Mythology: (Gods, Demons and Others · The
Ramayana · The Mahabharata)
Retrieved from
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_English_Teacher"