After Susila and Leela arrive, Krishna and Susila lead an exultant married life with their child, Leela. Except for brief quarrel when Susila sold his shrieking alarm clock, they never again quarrelled, especially for the sake of the child. But misfortune lay lurking in store for them. The period o grace and maturity is brought to a brutal conclusion when Susila catches typhoid after being accidently locked in a foul lavatory of a new house.
The death of Susila left Krishna absolutely up rooted, lonely and grief-stricken. Life was meaningless to him now. He would have rather committed suicide than live without her. When the dead body of Susila is laid on the ground, the atmosphere of the house is desperately gloomy – “We mutter, talk among ourselves and wail between convolutions of grief. Nothing exists now for Krishna except for her memories, “I feel nothing and see nothing”. In another scene when the fellowmen return from the burial ground, “There are no surprises and shocks in life…For me the greatest reality is this and nothing else…Nothing else will worry or interest me in life here after…” This point is the anti-climax of disappointment and sympathy in the novel.
In Chapter 7, the little peace and joy Krishna seemed to grasp through the spiritual communion with his wife was also lost, “it was s if a person lost in an abyss found a ladder and the ladder tumbled”. When the Medium man goes away Krishna broods over Susila’s memories bringing out a sense of disappointment again. Krishna is filled with regret because he could not fulfil his wife’s request for a moonlit walk and is disappointed as he could not take her on a European tour as he had promised.
When he child is also taken away by her grandmother, Krishna says “A profound unmitigated loneliness is the only truth in life”. No matter how much Krishna tries to make sure Leela doesn’t feel the absence of her mother, he eventually realizes that he cannot give her the warmth of a mother’s touch.
In addition to what happens to the main character, we are also disappointed about what happened to his wife Susila. Her untimely death is pathetic. We also feel sorry for the Headmaster’s wife and her children because of the way in which the Headmaster treats them.
Although this novel consists many scenes which display disappointment and sympathy, there were many happy and joyous moments too. At the beginning of the novel, the morning walk and the bathe in the river gave Krishna “a new lease of life”. The ecstatic time Krishna spends with Susila and Leela at their new house. Even after Susila’s death, the spiritual communion between them brought Krishna immense joy and happiness at a time when he was absolutely and lonely. The novel ends as Krishna’s quest for happiness becomes successful when he re-unites with his dear wife once and for all.
There is a great deal of humour blended in with the suffering in the novel “English Teacher”. Therefore, it is fair to say that this story is disappointing but it is also full of contentment. In the end, this novel presents a modern Indian world filled with distractions and worries; however, it was a good and truly enjoyable novel.
