Volume III Special Issue I January 2023

Name of Author : Anagha M G

Title of the paper : Water as a Multi-levelled Symbol: A Comparative Analysis of Sarah Josephs Aathi and J M Synges Riders to the Sea

Abstract: Water holds endless fascination for writers of all ages. Literary works painted the transitory nature of water that embodies the principle of life, death, love, betrayal, purity, holiness and many more. This paper is an attempt to bring out the multi-levelled symbol of water with reference to two major literary works Aathi and Riders to the Sea. Aathi, a profound Malayalam novel authored by Sarah Joseph explores the regenerative and degenerative power of nature. It highlights how the water body has sustained the village Aathi and its people for centuries, its therapeutic effects as well as its destructive power which alters the life of the people. Riders to the Sea, a play by the Irish Literary Renaissance playwright John Millington Synge offers a glimpse of the fate of the fishermen community of the Aran Islands. The power of the sea forms the central theme of the play where it becomes the source of life and destroyer of life at the same time. The whole community is dependent on sea, yet it has also brought death to them, thus contributing a tragic mood to this play. These two major works that have water as its central motif, embodies multi-levelled aspects of water as that of a preserver and destroyer simultaneously. This paper entitled Water as a Multi-levelled Symbol A Comparative Analysis of Sarah Josephs Aathi and J M Synges Riders to the Sea is an attempt to emphasize the power of water and the way it could alter the humankind both creatively and destructively.

Keywords : Multi-Levelled Symbol, Therapeutic Effect, Sea, Preserver, Destroyer

DOI :

Page Number : 10-13