Marxist perspective of class consciousness and resistance in Preeti Shenoy's A Place Called Home

Abstract

This study examines Preeti Shenoy’s novel, A Place Called Home, through the prism of Karl Marx's Conflict Theory to explore how economic systems maintain servitude for the interests of the ruling class's domination. The situations of Mrs. Shetty, Seema, and Alka portray the game of power, coercion, and resistance and how the forces of oppression are maintained as well as challenged. Seema's labour is commodified, her silence legitimized by the specter of unemployment and economic uncertainty. This is pure false consciousness, where the proletariat internalises exploitative ideologies and adapts to their own subordination. Alka's education, by contrast, inspires class consciousness in her, such that she learns to identify with and challenge those forces that propel her into niches. Class structure is validated by their very exclusion from privilege centers and the pervasive remembrance of their place at the bottom of all household items. Their labour maintains capitalist exploitation, restricting mobility and ensuring dependence. Mrs. Shetty's authority extends past wages—she controls access to goods and privilege, using benevolence as an instrument of oppression. Mrs. Shetty redefines exploitation as charity, framing Alka's education as a gift and not a right, concealing inequality and suppressing rebellion. The expectation that Alka will follow Seema, institutionalizes class oppression, but her rebellion disrupts the cycle. Seema urges Alka to embrace their fate, internalised servitude, as fleeting pleasures—such as Sunday outings—do not alter their subordination. Her gratitude towards Mrs. Shetty ensures continued subordination, suppressing revolt. Alka's ideological break—her bold insistence on a heater—constitutes an insistence on dignity. Mrs. Shetty's denial and accusations of greed underscore structural power imbalances. Psychological manipulation, emotional blackmail, and economic dependence are tools of oppression, but Alka's resistance shows that even the most oppressive structures can be transcended. Her transformation from an obedient girl to oppositional force is an expression of the proletariat's capacity to reclaim freedom. From a Marxist point of view, her transformation satirises structural inequality while affirming resistance, proving that rebellion is not just possible—but unavoidable.