Representation of Mental Health in 20th-Century British and Indian English Novels: A Comparative Analysis

This paper examines the nuanced representations of mental health in 20th-century British and Indian English literature, highlighting the intricacies and cultural contexts that shape these portrayals. For this purpose, this paper picks up the following texts for a comparative appraisal— Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf, Nineteen Eighty-four (1949) by George Orwell, The English Teacher (1945) by R.K. Narayan, and Cry, the Peacock (1963) by Anita Desai. These novels offer profound insights into the characters' mental state, reflecting the societal attitudes toward mental health in that period. By comparing these texts, the paper sheds light on how mental health is a universal and culturally specific issue, shaped by historical and social factors.