Dominance And Defiance In The Master-Servant Relationship In Preeti Shenoy's A Place Called Home

Abstract

The master-servant relationship, historically pervasive across various societies, has often been characterised by significant disparities in power, privilege, and access to resources. The way different classes of people manage their daily lives, whether as employees or employers of domestic workers, is reflected in the domestic labour market. Aristocratic and wealthy families have historically hired domestic workers to handle household chores. This dynamic is firmly anchored in social structures, where some people or groups have power and control over others, frequently due to factors like wealth, social standing, or ethnicity. Men, women, or children have worked as domestic helpers, but historically, women have been chosen for this role more than men. Women are perceived as possessing "natural" nurturing abilities and attributes due to the pervasive patriarchal beliefs, practices, and institutions. The master-servant relationship often reinforces existing social hierarchies, with masters holding higher social status and power than their servants. This power dynamic can lead to exploitation, abuse, and the reinforcement of social norms that justify the unequal distribution of power and resources. In the novel A Place Called Home, Seema worked as a maid at the home of Mrs. Shetty in Delhi and her daughter Alka, assisted her mother in the household chores. Alka’s success becomes a fulfillment of her mother’s long-held hope of financial independence, a dream rooted in a life of servitude that Seema wishes her daughter to transcend. She married a wealthy coffee grower who owned 400 acres of land in Sakleshpur and had kept her past of being a maid’s daughter a secret. However, when her past is exposed by Mrs. Shetty, it threatens to destroy her contented married life. But she fights it all bravely by visiting Mrs. Shetty’s home in Delhi and brought out the humiliation endured by her mother and herself and warned Mrs. Shetty never again to interfere in her life again.  The present article deals with the societal disparity in the master-servant relationship in the novel, In a Place called Home. Alka’s journey reveals the courage required to confront societal prejudice and underscores the possibility of asserting one’s identity despite systemic barriers. A Place Called Home thus becomes a poignant commentary on the deep-rooted issues of class disparity and the personal cost of social mobility.