The Battle Between Order and Chaos and Its Reconciliation in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland

Abstract

Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland explores identity through concepts such as order, duty, freedom and chaos. The inner conflict of the text—order against chaos—is already hinted at in the title. Considering the metaphorical implications of these ideas, water may be associated with chaos and freedom while land suggests duty and order. The two siblings depicted in Lahiri’s story serve as personifications of this: Udayan represents chaos (unfolding freedom and rebelliousness), while Subhash symbolizes order (embodying duty and care). In this sense, Udayan illustrates water and Subhash symbolizes land. The character of Bela, Udayan and Gauri’s daughter, resolves this dichotomy through her ecofeminist perspective that exemplifies ecological care. Bela manages to bridge the gap between the two worlds: science and the natural world, reason and emotion, order and chaos, and, ultimately, land and water.