Module: General Practice
Q9: Consider the following statements regarding the fundamental differences in values between Mr. Shamnath and his mother:
1. Mr. Shamnath views success entirely through the lens of Western corporate validation and material accumulation.
2. The mother derives her self-worth and happiness from aggressive social climbing and competing with the neighbors.
3. Mrs. Shamnath acts as an active enabler to her husband's social anxieties and materialistic ambitions.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
2. The mother derives her self-worth and happiness from aggressive social climbing and competing with the neighbors.
3. Mrs. Shamnath acts as an active enabler to her husband's social anxieties and materialistic ambitions.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
✅ Correct Answer: B
The correct combination is statements 1 and 3. The character dynamics in Sahni's story serve to contrast modern artificiality with traditional authenticity.
Structurally, Mr.
Shamnath is the quintessential brown sahib, a post-colonial archetype who equates professional success with mimicking Western lifestyles (Statement 1). His wife shares these exact values, actively participating in the sanitization of their home and the marginalization of the mother (Statement 3). Historically, this reflects the shifting domestic power dynamics in urban Indian families of the era, where the nuclear couple's corporate aspirations overrode traditional joint-family respect.
Statement 2 is incorrect because the mother has no interest in social climbing; her desires are purely spiritual and familial, rooted in traditional simplicity and a longing for peace.
Structurally, Mr.
Shamnath is the quintessential brown sahib, a post-colonial archetype who equates professional success with mimicking Western lifestyles (Statement 1). His wife shares these exact values, actively participating in the sanitization of their home and the marginalization of the mother (Statement 3). Historically, this reflects the shifting domestic power dynamics in urban Indian families of the era, where the nuclear couple's corporate aspirations overrode traditional joint-family respect.
Statement 2 is incorrect because the mother has no interest in social climbing; her desires are purely spiritual and familial, rooted in traditional simplicity and a longing for peace.