28 pages • 56 minutes read
Games at Twilight
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Background
Cultural Context: Traditional Family Structure in India
Anita Desai was born in Mussoorie, India, in 1937 and grew up in New Delhi, and much of her writing is set in India and draws on her culture. “Games at Twilight” is one such text and revolves around the family structure and societal norms at the time of her writing. The general plot of the text itself is seemingly innocuous, as it centers on a children’s game of hide-and-seek on a hot summer day. However, the story also highlights familial roles and gendered expectations in traditional Indian culture.
Historically, joint family structures in which extended family and multiple generations live together were common in India. This text centers on a joint family household, although it is unclear how many family members live together and how each of the children are related. Within the text, the author introduces a mother and several children, mentions a father who goes to work each day, and references several other unnamed adults and cousins. Ravi, a younger sibling and the story’s central character, mentions that the many family members gather on the lawn in the evenings, including “the parents” and “brothers, sisters, and cousins” (Paragraph 26). This nightly gathering is a signal that these extended family members live either together or near each other.
Traditionally, men are the heads of joint family structures in India: Joint families center on the patrilineal line, with daughters moving into their husbands’ joint family homes, while sons bring their wives and children into the home in which they grew up. The patriarch makes decisions for the whole family and is expected to be the primary breadwinner, though most of the adults in the house also work and pool their finances. The matriarch is responsible for the household and maintains the family’s domestic and religious life. The text aligns with this aspect of family life as well, as the mother is the children’s caretaker and the father (who is mentioned but not directly seen) goes to work each day. The other adults gather in the evenings but are not seen during the day, implying that they also spend the day out of the home.
Joint family structures promote collectivism, as household resources are shared and many adults can help care for children and maintain the home. At the same time, they promote a hierarchical structure in the household, situating the patriarch at the very top, followed by his wife. Due to factors like urbanization, nuclear households have become more popular in India in recent decades; as of 2017, more than half of India lived in nuclear households, while 16% lived in joint family households (Varma, Subodh. “‘Supplemented nuclear families’ make up 16% of Indian Households.” The Times of India, 2017).
Geographical Context: India’s Climate and Vegetation
The Indian subcontinent is a vast landmass whose geography and climate range from the humid, tropical wetlands of Kerala to the deserts of Rajasthan to the snow-covered highlands of the Himalayas. Though the specific setting of “Games at Twilight” within India is not named, the description of its weather and plant life resembles the subtropical climate of Delhi, where Desai grew up and where much of her fiction is set. Delhi is a megacity in North Central India and contains the smaller and more densely populated city of New Delhi, the nation’s capital. Summers are long—lasting from April to October—and largely dry. Outside of the midsummer monsoon season, temperatures can reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and both dust storms and wildfires are common. In “Games at Twilight,” the summer heat heightens the sense of boredom and impatience that characterizes the children’s lives. The air is still, the garden is so dry that it resembles “a tray made of beaten brass, flattened out on the red gravel and the stony soil in all shades of metal” (Paragraph 5), and a spray of water from the garden hose in the evening comes as a welcome relief.
Desai uses vivid descriptions of botanical elements, wildlife, and weather to enhance the story’s setting. Mentions of plants like bougainvillea, eucalyptus, crotons, and hibiscus create colorful visuals and imply a fragrant, beautiful setting. Animals like parrots, snakes, and dogs add to the scene’s vibrancy, deepening the setting’s texture. The most prominent feature of this natural environment, however, is the weather. The blinding sun and suffocating heat have profound effects on the living things in the environment—the birds “droop,” and squirrels “lay limp on the wet earth” (Paragraph 5). These descriptions illustrate how difficult it is to endure the oppressive heat in India’s tropical climate.
The heat also influences the characters’ moods and attitudes, making them feel irritable, stifled, and desperate for distraction since the weather cannot be helped. The heat-induced stupor is contrasted against the children “burst[ing] out like seeds from a crackling, overripe pod” (Paragraph 4), a chaotic and energetic way to cope with the heat. Their mother, meanwhile, seeks refuge in the bath, and the family’s driver sleeps through the day. The adults’ quiet absence during the day is again contrasted with their twilight activity; when the heat fades, the family comes to life. The children’s games also become more placid, and in the evening’s relief, Raghu becomes more like a voice of reason than a terrorizing older brother.
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