Character of Mrs. Tulsi in A House for Mr. Biswas (1961)

Character of Mrs. Tulsi:-

Head of Hanuman House:-

          Mrs. Tulsi is the head of Hanuman House at Atwascas. She is a widow having a large property. She manages here estate and stores with the help of her brother-in-law, Mr. Seth. She is the mother of fourteen daughters and two sons. She has only one servant, a negro woman whom she call Miss Blackie. Here daughter ad tier children sweep the floors, wash the clothes do the cooking and serve in her stores. She is very shrewd and cunning in choosing her in laws. She prefers young men of no means to support but of high castes. She understands that in this way, she can enforce here control and very little can be spent on dowery. Her Sons-in-laws work under Mr. Seth’s supervision. They serve in her stores and look after her animals. In return for their services, her daughters, and in-laws are given good , accommodation and a little money. Biswas call her ‘She fox’ because he gets no dowry and no separate residential accommodation.

Her Pretention of illness:-

          Tulsi often pretends to faint. When she faints, her two daughters Padma and Sushila take her to the Rose Room. Under their supervision, two other daughter massage her legs, one pours rum into her hair and massages her forehead. The other daughters stand by to carry out any instructions from Padma and Swhila. Tulsi’s two sons also attend her. Nobody does any activity in the house. She faints generally on account of a mistake made by any one of her in laws. Thus her pretension of illness is a part of her strategy to pressurize the members of her family to act as she wishes.

Dictator but kind-hearted woman:-

          She is a dictator by nature. But she is kind-hearted also. She can pardon even a serious misconduct. When Mr. Biswas expresses his displeasure towards her, she simply changes his place and job. She considers him as a misfit for her family. When Biswas falls ill at Green Vale, She brings him to Hanuman House where she looks after his healthy properly well. When he does not get proper accommodation in Port of Spain. She accommodates him in her own house; and she invites him to join her at shorthills when she herself moves to that place. She has the same benevolent attitude toward all the members of her family. Here attitude may be authoritarian, but she never forgets her duty as a matriarch.

A blend of orthodoxy and modernity

          She is a happy combination of orthodox and modern ideas. She is tolerant to Western culture also. She is devoted to her sons, Shekhar and Owad,. Though she is a highly orthodox Hindu woman, she tolerates Shekhar’s marriage with a Christian woman. She encourages Owad to abroad. Thus she is a curious blend of orthodoxy and modernity.

Tulis’s tyranny:- 

          Tulsi is basically not a bad woman at all. It is true that she loves power and wishes to be regarded as the supreme of Tulsi family. Many members of her family oppose her only because she believes in discipline, while they want freedom. In spite of the basic goodness of her heart, Tulsi is a symbol of tyranny against which Biswas rebels. His rebellion against her tyranny is the main them of his novel. But on the whole, Tulsi is good at hear and not a low woman or a tyrant.