The literary work,, Carapace" by Rumesh Gunesekera, presents the story of a young girl who is torn between marrying the man her mother has picked for her and the man she actually wants. With this text, the Sri-Lankan author highlights the concept of arranged marriages through the eyes of the future wife, how she can see the benefits of marrying a rich man, but also the downsides: the fact that she is in love with someone else.

It is fundamental to acknowledge the background of the author to fully understand their work. Romesh Gunesekera (born 1954) is a Sri Lankan-born British author, who was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for his novel,, Reef" in 1994. He has judged several literary prizes and was Chair of the judges of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize competition for 2015. His work focuses on the ethical problems of society, mainly the issues that he has seen and lived with in his home country. This is the reason why he often chooses themes such as arranged marriages, political tension, Sri Lanka's independence adaptation issues, animal poaching, etc. 

Summary:

Anura Penera, the rich man who lives in Australia, comes to the narrator's house in order to meet her after her mother's insistence. The narrator, a young girl, tells her secret boyfriend (that her mother doesn't know about) the news. She then remembers the story of how she and Vijay, her boyfriend, met: they first saw each other at the disco, where he asked her to dance, and they got to know each other. Vijay was a cook, a really passionate one, who was working at the Beach Hut. He invited her to the restaurant, where they talked about the future of their relationship. The narrator describes the feeling that she gets when Anura Penera tells her about all of the things that could be hers, but also how, when she is with Vijay, her whole perspective changes. She sees Anura's bright future and is worried about Vijay's. Her mom, Amma, prepares everything for when Anura comes, from cleaning to cooking, while the girl thinks about her mother's response to her current boyfriend. Waiting for Vijay to call, the narrator starts growing impatient. She picks up the phone: an invitation to dinner that she cannot accept. She puts the phone down, and he doesn't call back.

Cultural context:

In Sri-Lankan culture, arranged marriages are a pretty common phenomenon, which is why no character in the story sees them as an odd requirement from parents to their children. Because of the country's economic situation, a lot of families feel the need to help their children this way: by getting them a partner that can change the course of their lives in a positive way, so it's only normal for Amma to want her daughter to marry the man living in Australia. The fact that this is a contemporary text is proved by Vijay's thoughts about the concept.

The illustration of the concept:

The pressure the narrator feels comes mainly from her mother and her wish. It is clear that the girl has strong feelings for Vijay and isn't going to let him go. The fact that her relationship is secret is the aspect that makes it even more exciting. She knows she doesn't have the right to choose between the two men, because her family already picked Anura, and they don't even know about Vijay, but she thinks she does. She knows that marrying Anura is going to make her live the life she wants to, but only to some degree, because she loves Vijay.

Personal metaphorical analysis:

I think that when the concept of arranged marriages appears in a piece of literature, more so if it comes along with an internal conflict based on the question,, Who should I choose?", it represents the right of freedom. The two men in this text are two characters built to suggest the two stereotypes: stability and the unknown. Anura represents the safe path, the one that guarantees that your future will look better than the present, the one that will surely get you somewhere; you only have to follow some steps that have already been placed in front of you. Vijay represents freedom, the wild ride, the one in which you don't know the destination, you don't even know if the destination exists, the one that surprises you and makes you curious about life, the path that could kill or rebirth you. When the girl doesn't know which one to choose, that is caused by her expansive personality, her need for adventure and discovery. These types of people will often choose the wrong path, the safe one, because of outside opinions and advice. Just like in a marriage, choosing the wrong partner or the wrong path will lead you to that empty feeling, when it feels like your life doesn't even exist anymore, because there's nothing to do with it.

Conclusion:

Whether you might see arranged marriages as just pieces of signed paper, or more like the physical representation of freedom, the final question about their benefits and downsides remains the same: Is it worth risking stability for the thrill of life? At the end of the day, whatever choices you make in life will make you suffer, then be happy, suffer again, and so on; the only difference you can make depends on how much you want to feel.