Devadas-Key to Saratchandra

The works of Saratchandra were critically appraised by several critics and scholars, but the speciality of this book, which attracts me some new light not only on the tragic hero Devadas and Chandramukhi, but also on Saratchandra as well. Saratchandra’s psychology, his commitment to the society, his inner struggle — all are excellently depicted and analysed. In this context, the social stand and dilemma of Saratchandra are made clear. Author discussed elaborately about the method of criticism. The questions, that crowded his mind and the logical solutions to those questions are all adequately dealt with. At times he quoted from Goethe’s "Die Leiden des Jungun Werthers" to illustrate the sequential similarity in both the novels and sometimes referred the Freudian mother — child relationship as a universal archetype of human conditions. He genuinely believed that a work of art is "a reflection of the artist himself as a man" and "the work of art is then charged with the unconscious material we share with the artist." The entire work exposes the scholarly and analytical bend of mind of the critic. His works, is an excellent addition to the existing appraisals of his works.