EMBLEMS OF EMOTION: SYMBOLISM IN THE SELECT WORKS OF PREETI SHENOY

Abstract [English]

Preeti Shenoy’s The One You Cannot Have describes the emotional aftereffects of lost love, broken relationships, and the nuances of healing. The novel focuses on realistic elements, she weaves smoothly many symbolic elements that highlight the psychological domain of the characters. This article delves into the symbolic devices used in the novel, including different kinds of objects and settings, to recurring motifs, which exhibit how these elements aid the character to develop, articulating themes, and the novel’s emotional depth. In A Place Called Home, the author, Preeti Shenoy, presents an energetic narrative of a woman’s journey from submission to self-empowerment, woven with deeply connected emotional problems and the reality of society. She has the power to tell stories in a naturalistic manner, she employs a superset of symbolic elements to lightly shadow the themes of the class system, identity, displacement, emotional struggles, and belonging. This paper analyses how she has used the symbols in both material and environmental aspects to show the inner meanings and portray the protagonist’s internal and external conflicts. Her other novel, The Rule Breakers, also has exotic realistic elements, even though she skillfully utilises the symbolic elements that exhibit the Veda, the protagonist’s emotional and social struggles and problems. These symbolic elements are used not merely as decorative elements, instead, they act as narrative tools, mirroring internal struggles and societal ties and restrictions.