Characters in Conflict: A Study of Intergenerational Tension in Sudha Murthy's Dollar Bahu

Abstract

Literature reflects the complex nature of relationships, bonding, morals, values, and emotions over time. Demonstrating characters from various generations, literature exposes the difference they face among them. Intergenerational conflict takes place when numerous social and cultural values, experiences and expectations separate one from another. It ultimately builds a tension among them. Sudha Murthy’s Dollar Bahu depicts family relationships and the conflicts. It revolves around the characters as a part of accomplishing their individual identities. The novelist describes the gap between generations. There the elder of the family sustains
traditional values, while the younger wishes for changes. In this novel, Gouramma, a character demonstrating traditional life, is in difference with the character named Jamuna. She is known for her new modern life. They response to the situation with the support of their past memories and experiences and they direct them to the decision that they take. Their culture and society, emotional demands and expectations, drive them to response to the conditions. The differences they have form conflict and tension. It pulls them to have communication problems, emotional distance and misjudgment. With these characters, writer evidently describes the intergenerational tension. With the use of Generational Cohort Theory and Family System Theory, this paper studies how the characters get into intergenerational tension. Further it examine how it disturbs their personal lives in the novel .