Suggestion:

dear amit,your attempt of writing article is admirable. Thank you for this. However, you have to
go through the following revision:
1 first, you have to write article in the following format:1 introduction, 2 problem, objective,
methodology and limitation 3 review of literature 4 textual analysis 5 conclusion and finally
works cited. In each section you have to provide sub topic.
Second, in abstract you have to focus on problem, methodology, finding, topic and central idea.
Write at least 8 to 10 lines in italic font
Then write 8 to 10 key words
Third, select topic like: Core Issues: Psychoanalytic reading of Blue Mimosa in ….
In introduction section , focus only on core issues and psychoanalysis, unconscious, brief history
of Freud ,what are core issues, what are its function etc as the contents of introduction. Don’t
write others.
Fourthly, focus on your problem, objective, methodology and limitation. Raise at least two
questions related to your topic. You can use yes no question or wh question. For example :how
do core issues have its significant space in the unconscious mind of the major characters in the
novel? Are the core issues psychologically secured? Or how do core issues make formation of
unconscious? Or any other questions you find it appropriate related to the topic.
Fifthly , write relevant review of literature related to the topic. What gaps do you find out of
review of literature? this is the base for problem. When you read one article as review,
introductory tagline is important. You can write review either in quotation or summary.
Next, go to textual analysis , make intext citation. You need to write page no. quote the lines
from the text to support your point. Finally write conclusion, summarization of the main points
and finally write works cited. Mention each and everything in details in works cited list what you
have cited from others.

Core issues, in Parijat’s the Blue Mimosa

Abstract

The present study concerns with the core issue in the Parijat’s The Blue Mimosa. The main

characters goes through various core issues and are guided by their unconscious and their lives

are directly or indirectly affected by it. Suyogbhir seems to have fear of intimacy, low self-
esteem and guilty desires. Sakambari seems to have lowself-esteem, fear of betrayal, and fear of

insecure or unstable sense of self.. The motives behind writing a novel with a male perspectives,

showing her characters behaviors and dialogue against the patriarchal society is definitely

Parijat’s ego coming out. Her desire that is unexpressed in real life is exposed by the writer, and

she is knowingly or unknowingly taking her unconscious out along with the novel.

Key Words : Psychoanalysis, ,Core issue, Unconcious, lowself –esteem, fear of Intimacy,

Introduction
“ The Blue Mimosa’’ is one of the most celebrated novels in Nepali literature by a female

writer- Bishnu Kumari Waiwa. It was originally written in Nepali and was later translated into

English version. Born in Darjeeling, India where she completed her schooling, she moved to

Kathmandu, Nepal where she spent the rest of her life. Her first novel The Blue Mimosa (Nepali:

Shrish ko phool ) was published in 1965. The novel received Madan Puraskar, the award offered

in Nepal for The Best Book of the Year. She was, and still regarded as the first modern novelist

of Nepal. The novel is highly acclaimed in Nepali literature, proving to introduce Nepalese

literature in a global platform.

Psychoanalysis is a set of theory and therapatic techniques related to the study of the

unconscious mind which together form a method of treatment for mental-health disorders. It was

founded by Sigmund Freud. He believed that people could be cured by making conscious their

unconscious, thoughts and motivations thus gaining insight into the depth of their life. He argued

that personality is formed through conflict among these fundamental structures of the human

mind, id, ego and the super ego. There are many desires, wishes that are not fulfilled in our life

and become the part of our unconscious which later turns into core issues. Oedipal complex, fear

of abandon, repression, fear of intimacy, etc. are some examples and we are guided by it. Instead

of giving direct access to the unconscious, psychoanalytical study recognizes the symptoms of
unconscious when they surface in the form of dreams. Puns, slip of tongue, and hysterical and

neurotic disorder.

Review of literature

Julia A.B hegewald writes:-. Because of its progressive and critical content the novel was

something new and distinct in the sphere of Nepali literature. For Parijat, progressivism was one

of the most important issues in writing and she called the aim of progressivism ‘justice. Equality

and to evolve a society into its best. Explaining her motivation for writing this particular novel,

Parijat commented, ‘ I felt a kind of revolt within myself against the social system I was existing

in. ‘ the mimosa flower is a progressive and critical novel, teaching amoral lesson to modern

society with its quickly changing values a society afflicted by alienation and meaninglessness.

Indeed , Shrish ko Phool works precisely against cruelty , decadence and vulgarity, propagating

the idea that every person is responsible for his or her own deeds, and that one can only give

meaning to one’s life oneself.

Junga Bahadur Chauhan in his book Bodhi writes about Parijat:

Each creation of nature needs to be studied in the light of its own

existence and pace. The pace is not always straight; it goes through vicissitudes time and again.

It applies to Parijat also. The attempt to understand her beyond her own pace will be either

incomplete or partial. Her progressive ideas require to be judged with reference to her own time

and context. In this regard, no matter what ideals and themes they portray, her creations appear

best in their place. After her death all her readers -- those who liked and adored her, and also

those who shunned her – sang their own elegies. Parijat herself used to say, “How irritating a
single death can be here. When I think of it, I am rather scared of rituals than death itself”

(Parijat, 1997, p. 40). Ironically, her own funeral rites were observed in typical Lama Traditions,

with lama incantations and tunes. All her well-wishers in their own way sensed the absence of

Parijat, of Shirishko Phool and of the “sleepless mountains”. Not in her physical existence, but in

the sentimental and rebellious ideas of her works shall we meet this immortal genius of Nepali

literature. She is blooming with the ‘blue mimosa’, and reveling with the ‘mustard field, streets

and dreams’. She is standing ‘in and out of the walls’ and like the ‘sleepless mountains’,

inflexibly in the soul of this country. She is roaming in the ‘shades of pines and rhododendrons’,

in the rhythm of pure breeze blowing in our pure hills and mountains. She is living in our hearts

-- the embodiment of our faith, Parijat.

Sonam Dolma writes “Shrish ko Phool” comes as a respite from otherwise politically dominated

novels in Nepal. Although the book is only sixty pages long, it is capable of leaving a powerful

impact on the readers. The novel sings of pain and the bitter irony presented in the book will

remain with the readers for a longer time. The story told in this particular book in a way touched

me. For me, it showed a normal, guilty human being’s life. He is drowned by sins; he is a coward

to accept his faults as he knows he has to again correct it.  He runs away from his truths, as far as

possible but he doesn’t know that the earth is round; he is running nowhere but closer to his

punishment. Also, the heroine of this story teaches us that being different is something special,

something people will admire about you and that the change starts with you. She is an example

of a strong woman, who has her own dignity, self-respect and a sense of purity in her. To

compete with men like Suyog and be able to stand in the same level as them, women must learn

to be like Sakambari. It’s ending is dissatisfactory as I still had lots of expectations, many
questions that still remained unanswered but overall the feel that the story tries to present is

great.

Bossnepal.com has given the reviews this way :-

The novel sings of pain and the bitter irony presented in the book will remain with the

readers for a longer time. The characters to which people can relate themselves and also being a book

with a heart are its major strength. The bitter and sad narrative and its expedition into the deepest

thoughts of the main character having a universal character is what set the book apart from others. In

the book, Sakambari is presented as the Shirish (from where title of the book comes from), a

flower that blooms giving warmth to the cold world. Overpowered by the love

for Sakambari, Suyog also feels a sense of self-hatred. His consciousness is shaken to its core by

his feeling of love and life being painful. Sakambari, just like a flower, gives up and withers

down to the earth. The book does not tell the story of victory but of an empty and meaningless

life and a toxic love for a woman. Sakambari is presented as a strong, independent and spiteful

woman with atheistic attitudes who resents looking weak in front of her male counterparts

while Suyog is a lowly mortal who sees Sakambari to be stronger than him. Although the book is

intensely lyrical, its language is understandable. One of the best novels in the world of Nepali

literature, Shirish ko Phool by Parijat is a must-read.

Critical Analysis

Fear of intimacy means a feeling that when we are emotionally close with people, they will give

more pain when they leave us, so it is better to avoid closeness by staying emotionally far away

from such people. The main character core issues seem to be this fear of intimacy. Sakambari
seem to be suffering from fear of intimacy. She doesn’t seem to be close with anyone. She stays

inside home often, is happy to be alone, and smokes all the time. Even Suyogbir in his youth, in

his army days kept physical relations; he avoided any kind of emotional attachment with women,

with girls. He wanted sexual relationship only and once it is fulfilled he avoided them. There

seem no any points, no meaning other than his fear of intimacy that compels him to do so. He is

unaware of his nature, such behaviors but unconsciously he has fear in his mind that if he gets

emotional attachment with them, he might feel weak, powerless. He is afraid of losing his loved

ones in the war, where even his life is uncertain, how can he be certain about others. That’s why

he avoided them when they tried to be close to him.

Fear of abandonment is another core issue found in the characters. It is a belief that our friends

and loved ones are going to desert us later and they don’t care us. Fear of betrayal means a

psychological fear that our loved ones are going to cheat, or lie and couldn’t be trusted.

Matinchi, a Burmese farmer’s daughter seems to suffer from fear of abandonment and fear of

betrayal. Suyogbir had given her false promise of marrying and staying together. He had taken

advantage of her innocence. She thought him as a future husband and gave her everything to him

as a wife. Suyogbir had made her wait for a long time. He would continuously lie and told her

very soon we will marry. She had started growing a fear that he would leave her, and betray her

leaving her alone. Her words were “But I won’t let you go today. I had a terrible dream. Dear

Gurkha, if you leave me it will be like killing me”. And it happens, her dreams become real. He

betrays her and runs away from Matinchi and Burma.

Low self-esteem is another fear or belief that we are not worthy than other people and therefore

don’t deserve attention, love or any life rewards. Fear of insecure is the inability to sustain a

feeling of personal identity, to sustain a sense of knowing ourselves. Suyogbir seems to be the
victim of low self-esteem. After his army life was over and when he started living a normal life

surviving on his pension in Kathmandu, he had low self-esteem. He found himself unworthy of

love, love of Sakambari. He was old, drunkard and a criminal in Sakambari’s eyes so he

considered himself unworthy of attention and love of Bari. After all his fatal crimes his cruel

behavior against the head hunter daughter, the buffalo herding girl or Matinchi, he feels he is

unworthy of any life rewards, he is incapable of getting love for all his crimes. Shivaraj

throughout the novel seems to be insecure. Being the brother of three young sisters, he has

responsibilities in him but every night he is found in bar. He doesn’t seem to exist. Every night

he runs away from reality and tries to forget himself. We know only one thing about him is, he is

drunkard and being brother, being head of all members, is afraid of Bari. His inability of

personal identity can be easily guessed when he says “Today I can go home late, Bari isn’t

feeling well. When she’s this way she doesn’t leave her room”.

Fear of or fascination of Death is another core issue that can be seen in The Blue Mimosa.

Sakambari seems to be more fascinated with death than any other characters in the novel. She is

continuously smoking, one after another she seems enjoying it so much. It is her best friend

throughout the novel. Her behaviors, her thoughts, her fascination with insect-killing orchards

are all proof that she is against life. Smoking causes cancer, her fingers are pale due to nicotine

still she prefers it. Her unusual fascination with insect killing orchards is quite contrary to other

girls. Normally girls prefer growing flowers that blossoms and that attracts butterflies, insects.

They make the surrounding look beautiful, lively. They make the world look beautiful but quite

contrary Sakambari has grown orchids that is against life, flowers that kill butterfly, insects.

When asked about orchids her reply was “when they are aware of the sound of the bumble bee or
black bee or hornet, these pouches that look like buds open their mouth. I don’t know what there

is in them but the insects leave the flower and enter them. When a bee has entered the pouch it

closes its mouth. Inside the insects’ dies of suffocation, it is very interesting.” She finds pleasure

in watching orchids when an insect is killed in it. On her birthday when Shivaraj wishes her long

life. She immediately replies by saying Shiva you don’t know to wish. She argues “What’s the

use of living? Why live to be old? Shiva, you don’t know how to bless; you should say,‘Die in

time.’ What is there that’s really worth living for?” which clearly shows her hate with living and

her wanting to die. Sakambari is brave enough but in other hand Suyogbir seems coward. He

fears death. He wants to enjoy life, he wants love,and he desires Sakambari. But after that kiss,

he is afraid to face the consequences. Suyogbir during his army life seemed much more afraid of

death. He felt he might die anywhere in the woods, in the river, in the jungle anytime. He feared

his life, he was uncertain of his returning back to homeland, so wherever he got chance by hook

or by crook he enjoyed life. In some case he raped forcefully, insome case offered a ring and for

Matinchi, he showed false dream of marriage. He did all because he feared death, war seemed

never ending during the world War II, so he wasn’t sure of his life, thus he committed crimes

against women. It was his fear of death that compelled him to do such fatal crimes.

Conclusion

The Blue Mimosa has a tragic end but there is love and romance too in the novel. Suyogbir is a

lover who loves Sakambari but is unable to express it. His monologue, his projection, his dreams

about Sakmabari proves he loves her truly but his love is one-sided love only. There is love

between the stall keeper’s wife and soda water selling boy. Suyogbir and Matinchi too shared
some moments of love during his life in army. Matinchi loved him truly whereas Suyogbir was

only playing with feelings of her, his love was limited to physical in the past but he has changed

now.

The way Parijat describes Sakambari physically attractive it seems as if she is admiring her own

beauty through the eyes of Suyogbir. In fact as the story goes on we feel Parijat is speaking

rather than Sakambari. Her thoughts, her attitudes her illness and her way of thinking towards

life are all presented to us through Sakambari. The story is pure one may actually forget the girl

to be Sakambari and imagine her to be Parijat instead. The story is a fantasy, her imagination or a

dream which may never come to life. Someone falling in love with her disease.

All the characters in Blue Mimosa have some core issues within them. They are not aware of

those life driving forces. They donot seem to think the reasons behind developing habits , likings

and behaving in the particular way etc which doesn’t suit them. They are unknowingly or

unconsciously acting as per the core issues. Fear of Intimacy, Fear of Betrayal, Lowself esteem,

Fear of Denial etc seems to be leading their life. Sakambari seems to have fear of intimacy and

fascination of death. She likes being alone because she feels that if she is close with someone and

if the bonds break she has to endure a huge pain and separation . Fascination of death can be

guessed by her addiction with smoking which is against life, she likes insect killing orchard

which proves her attraction with death. Both Suyogbir and Shivaraj seems to suffer from low self

esteem that’s why they go in bar as a daily routine to hide their feeling. In the glass of wine and

with puff of smoke they want to erase and hide their identity. . In this way we find the main

characters suffer from different core belief/ issues. If we pay close attention to habits,

behaviours, thoughts and the attitude of characters we easily can find the inner issues of

characters and can have a deep insight into their life. Psychoanalysis has a different pair of glass
and if we wear and look through it we could easily find our true self and pure soul which will

definitely help us to move forward in our life. We should sort out our core issues with

psychoanalysis at first and then, must try to help others to lead a content life.

References

Ackerman, Courtney. “Psychoanlaysis: A Brief History of Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory”

Chauhan, Junga Bd. “Understanding Parijat through the prism of her Biography”.Vol.2, No.1,

SerialNo.2, 2008.

Dolma, Sonam. “A book review on: Shrish ko phool.” April 3, 2013.

Hegewald, Julia. "Parijat’s Reflection on the meaning of life” Vol.29. No.1, 1994.

Retrieve June 10,2020 from http://bossnepal.com/shirish-ko-phool-parijat/

Tolsy, Leo. Critical Theory Today.2nd edition, 2006.

Waiba, Bishnu kumari. Shrish ko Phool.

www. Freudfile.org/ psychoanalysis/theory