Quiet Minds & Hidden Conflicts: A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days

Abstract

Critical analysis of R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days frequently acknowledges its realism and humanistic depiction of small-town India. Although psychological aspects are often mentioned, detailed psychoanalytic analyses of the text are scarce and incomplete. This review seeks to integrate existing psychoanalytic and psychologically-informed literary research related to Malgudi Days, specifically focusing on unconscious conflict, repression, ego function, defense mechanisms, and moral anxiety. The study employed a narrative review methodology, examining scholarly articles, critical essays, and books that apply psychoanalytic theory to literature, Indian English fiction, and R.K. Narayan’s writings. Only literature that is conceptually consistent with psychoanalytic frameworks has been incorporated to maintain theoretical coherence. The review highlights a distinct gap in the existing scholarship concerning comprehensive psychoanalytic analyses of Malgudi Days. It contends that employing a culturally informed psychoanalytic perspective is crucial for elucidating the subtle psychological tensions inherent in Narayan’s depiction of everyday life.