Cultural identity in Raja Rao’s “The Serpent and the Rope”

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The Serpent and the Rope is a complex mixture of philosophy, religious ideas and cultural history.

It is a philosophical exposition of the Indian way of life.

The sense of rootlessness, with its consequent identity crisis, forms the thematic focus of the novel.

Ramaswamy, the main character, tells his own story, feeling rootless and sad.

This sense of rootlessness leads to his spiritual journey towards achieving a genuine Indian identity.

Ramaswamy's quest for truth is also manifested in his search for the ideal woman.

His quest for identity is portrayed through a triangular pattern of relationship between his French intellectual wife, Madeleine, which simultaneously operates with his spiritual love for the Hindu princess, Savithri.

Ramaswamy is a Brahmin, aware of his privileged stance in the Hindu social hierarchy.

However, he is also influenced by the Western culture and his European surroundings.

Ramaswamy tried to identify with the west which attracts him trying to find an identity for himself, Yet he feels an Indian, and his thoughts are Indian, he is aware of his Indian identity, According to Ramaswamy, the ultimate aim of an individual is to succeed in his quest for the self, His quest for identity starts by examining both the European and the Indian woman.

His search for meaning through relationship with the feminine, is in reality a search for his own identity.

Ramaswamy has feelings of rootlessness.

He is bewildered between two modes of life: the Indian and the Western.

There is no harmony between his two identities.

The self which is rooted in the modern Western mode of life, fails to combine , with his Indian identity.

Thus, there are two opposing forces in his own psyche.

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His quest is an exploration of the essence of traditional values in order to find a new identity.

In the end, his sense of alienation makes him decide to set out on a spiritual journey to find his lost self.