“Veronica” is set in Africa and is likewise tragic. The main character and narrato is Okeke who grew up with a girl called Veronica in his native village, Okeke chooses to leave the village in his youth and move to a town twelve miles away for employment with his family, leaving Veronica behind.
In “A Stench of Kerosene” the main and most obvious evidence of the kind of culture is the names of the characters and the name they give items used in the play. For instance “hookah” and “chillium” are a kinds of pipe, a “dupatta” which is a cake at festivals and a “charpoy” is a wooden bed with a stretched rope.
In “Veronica” you can tell that the culture is unlike ours, with African names and the way Veronica was treated in a sexist manner. They do not live in houses or building like us they live in huts we see this when Okeke says: “I went into Veronica’s hut” This shows the people of this village have got little money or technology and it is fair to say that the village that Veronica lived is a less economically developed area.Also we read more proof of this when Okeke says: “The place was crawling with disease”
Veronica tells Okeke that she is married with a son, the readers sympathy now also pities Okeke because although Okeke may never get married as he say the women in his city are only interested in “money and cars”.
In “A Stench of Kerosene” Manak through out the story feels similarly
feels remorse and guilt. Guleri and Manak are in love with each other and married unlike Okeke and Veronica. Like Okeke when Guleri leaves her home, the cause of the tragedy happens. Adwale Maja-Pearce shows Guleri’s complete unawareness of Manak’s new marriage in a metaphor the sun shone in her eyes, as this may refer as an omen to Guleri’s blindness to what will happen when she goes.
Mannak’s mother plays a very important part in the tragedy as she arranges the second marriage. Her reason for doing this is through her own greed of wanting a grandson and through the older Indian tradition of having a son to continuing the family name is a very important part of Indian family life. Though his mother arranges this behind Guleri’s back it is accepted to have second wives. Mannak’s mother’s character is presented to make the reader condemn the mother’s decisions and behaviour, by describing her as “severe”.
Dramatic irony occurs in this story unlike in Veronica when we are aware of the second marriage before Guleri, however we only find out about her death “she soaked herself in kerosene and set fire to them” at the same point as Manak.
In both stories the details of the women’s death are not given. The authors do this, as it is difficult and unsuitable to describe the actual details of the deaths, also the deaths are left to our imaginations.
As in “Veronica” like Okeke Manak felt responsibility for this death, and so feels a extreme guilt. Manak with this haunting event trapped in his mind leaving every joyful moment with his new wife feeling guilt instead of happiness. Amirita Pritam shows how this guilt has no only effected his life but his mind and senses in the last line of the story when he hold the new born baby of his second wife in give to him and he says “Take him away! He stinks of kerosene.”
In both stories we should pity Veronica and Guleri, as they are victims of death. Veronica physically died against her own will and Guleri mentally felt she could not live any more. Therefore the two women in both stories suffered the main tragedy. The reader may also felt pity that Veronica was unable to prevent being born into a sexist and poor culture, which caused her to live her life with the tragic ending.
Manak was also a victim not, of death but of guilt as his was taunted by the events of his wife and the evidence at the end of the story proves this: as he thinks his child smells of kerosene, which is the liquid that caused his wife to burn to death. This shows his future with his new wife will be very hard for him to cope with.
Both stories do not give all necessary information at the start of the stories in order to puzzle and keep the interest of the reader. The theme of the title plays an important role in both stories. In “A Stench of Kerosene” the meaning of this title only becomes towards the end of the story and we only realize that the title “Veronica” is the main character in the story half way through as well as the narrator is a male.
