CHAPTER - III

THE PANGS OF LONELINESS

I felt as if I were placed under a ban- as if I had no right to claim

their sympathies – as if never more might I enjoy companionship

with them. Yet even thus I loved them to adoration; and to save

them, I resolved to dedicate myself to my most abhorred task.

The prospect of such an occupation made every other

circumstance of existence pass before me like a dream, and that

thought only had to me the reality of life.

-Mary Shelley

Loneliness is a feeling of emptiness or hollowness that has been haunting the

mankind right from its origin. It is a very intense deprivation and deep pain that has the

power to turn an individual into a pessimistic and heartbroken individual. Keeping

oneself away from the company of others cannot be literally sometimes considered as

loneliness. It is quite natural for an individual to prefer the choice of staying physically

away whenever his mind is preoccupied with humiliation, insult, betrayal, treachery,

dejection and deprivation that have been caused by his own close associates. This kind

of utter loneliness leads an individual to experience a state of depression and

helplessness, which in turn transform him into a more passive and more chaotic state.

Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby comments, “I was within and without,

simultaneously enchanted and repeated by the inexhaustible variety of life” (26).

Loneliness is a hazardous state that may deteriorate the mental strength and

determination of a person so that the individual gradually becomes weak and timid. The
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multi-faceted consequences of loneliness affect the entire mechanism of an individual

by destroying the feeling of hopefulness and self-reliance.

Loneliness has increased along with modernisation since people are engrossed

so much with the virtual social communication and networks and thus, they do not have

any urge to attend social gatherings that facilitate them to stay in connection with

family and friends. The pleasure of loneliness on being associated with the network of

social and mass media is only short-lived. Gradually, he reaches the state of machines

devoid of basic sentiments, emotions and intelligence. He poses himself as shrewd and

potential by quoting the borrowed information from the electronic devices. He loses his

originality. At many times, he is mocked at by others when he remains answerless

without the help of those devices. Above all, he has no knowledge to cross-check the

reliability of the information that he has got from them. Thus, when all his attempts

become null and void, he seeks the company of his close associates.

Loneliness has been a common theme right from Shakespeare’s literary

contributions. Great literary geniuses like George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, Thomas

Hardy, Charles Dickens, John Galsworthy, Charlotte Bronte, Arthur Miller, Sylvia

Plath and many other writers have elaborately dealt with the theme of loneliness in their

works of art. Loneliness is a complex and an unpleasant physical and emotional

isolation or lack of companionship due to various reasons. It typically involves anxious

feelings about lack of connectedness or communality with other beings, both in the

present and in the future. As such, loneliness varies and also includes social, mental and

emotional factors. Loneliness is widely prevalent throughout the society among people

in marriage, relationship, families, veterans and even in successful careers.

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Mother Teresa, the greatest social worker and reformer of this era echoes the

essence of the above-mentioned statement in A Simple Path:

The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy, it is being

unwanted, unloved and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with

medicine but the only cure for loneliness, despair and hopelessness is

love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread,

but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West

is a different kind of poverty - it is not only a poverty of loneliness but

also of spirituality. There’s a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for

God. (83)

The Westerners in large numbers undergo and experience the pain of loneliness

when compared to the East. It is due to industrialisation, egoism, jealousy and

emotional unbalance. Many social evils like poverty and starvation that obstruct the

growth of the country and its subjects are considered worse but loneliness that the

frustrated individuals come across can be considered as the worst form of violence and

exploitation, for the dire consequences of it are unbearable to them. While the rarest

medicine and the best balm cannot cure, getting connected and remaining united can

solve even the most complicated issues and the most fatal diseases like war, racism,

holocaust, genocide, etc.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Western society saw the

decline in religious belief in favour of scientific discourse. The absence of spirituality

has caused the modern society to be the symbol of anxiety and failure. None can escape
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the cobweb pattern of loneliness. It is deeply rooted in all paths of life because it

reveals in sharp profile some of the most important limits of whom, the humans are in

relationship with each other and how they are in relationship with one another. It may

be said that loneliness is fundamental to the very constitution of life.

The unendurable agony of loneliness can generate in human beings the

experience of abandonment, rejection, depression, insecurity and anxiety. It also can be

situational, developmental and internal. Situational loneliness is caused by the situation

in which one finds oneself in. It is provoked by the death of a spouse, parting of friends,

break of relationship and one’s migration from one locality to another or from native

land to a foreign land. The people who meet as strangers may appear menacing and

indifferent to each other as both of them find it very difficult to fit them into the

framework of the alien culture and tradition. Developmental loneliness is one’s need

for isolation that develops throughout all the stages of life. Internal loneliness is

unrelated to external situation or age, often including feeling of low-esteem and

vulnerability, probably stemming from early years.

Jonathan Coe, one of the reputed modern British novelists, has successfully

highlighted in his novels the hazards of loneliness in varied forms that poses a threat to

the survivors. The fashionable, busy and materialistic modern world has brushed aside

the old tradition and the value of living in harmony and peace. Adverse circumstances

and foolish thoughts of modern man have forced people to undergo the untold

sufferings of loneliness. Coe needs to be admired for exposing the various causes

responsible for loneliness in the times of both young and old. He seems to urge the
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people that they should not prefer loneliness to escape the pain of penury and

destitution. Instead, he should consider it as the rarest boon that prepares him mentally

to face and conquer any kind of challenge in life. Alan Sillitoe in the novel The

Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner explicates, “The long distance run of an early

morning makes me think that every run like this is a life – a little life, I know – but a

life as full of misery and happiness and things happening as you can ever get really

around yourself …” (19). Every individual should be very inquisitive to seek relief and

pleasure from God’s wonderful creation Nature. It is quite paradoxical that an alienated

individual wantonly ushers into the labyrinth of loneliness. Hence, a perfect

understanding of life and society is mandatory for a modern man to have a clear insight

of his own life and his surroundings to remain genuine and lovable.

Coe is better known for his extraordinary concern for the portrayal of female

protagonists rather than his male protagonists. Maria is one such unique woman

character in the novelist’s maiden novel The Accidental Woman. Quite different from

his other novels, he has analysed the marginalised state of women in the contemporary

British society. Loneliness is quite common in the life of both the genders. He has

effectively pictured the sufferings and issues encountered by his female protagonist

Maria. His portrayal of women characters which is on par with the portrayal of women

by G.B. Shaw disapproves Gayathri C. Spivak’s statements, “The subaltern as female

cannot be heard or read” and “The subaltern cannot speak”(104). Maria is introduced as

a fifteen year old school girl studying at St. Jude’s. She is quite different from Coe’s all

other male and female characters. She finds joy, satisfaction and composure by being

alone though it often causes nightmarish experiences. She is admired neither by her
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teachers nor by her friends at school. Instead, they humiliate, ridicule and criticise her

for no genuine reason. The narrator opines:

She was inexperienced, but not stupid, and in the last few years she had

begun to notice things, and to withdraw, unimpressed, from the society

of her school friends, her former play-mates. Miserable Maria, they had

started to call her… Childish nicknames, that’s all. Shit-face. Snot-bag.

Their invention was inexhaustible. Maria’s reserve infuriated Mrs.

Leedbetter, as usual. (TAW 2)

Avoiding positive social interactions makes an individual remain away from his

fellow-beings. An isolated individual may not be able to update his knowledge,

socialise his thoughts and endeavours and achieve his goals, for it is highly impossible

for him to execute all those tasks all alone. To some individuals, it may be a positive

factor that keeps him away from the sound of the world dimming in his ear and mind.

Loneliness gives him enormous time to plan, organise and execute his plans so

accurately. Hence, it can be concluded that alienation cannot be ultimately labelled as

either absolutely positive or completely negative. Maria because of presupposed notion

keeps herself aloof from her good friends. Even when she has to walk up to the hill

where her house is located, she does not search for a companion or accept Ronny’s

request to accompany her. She feels more secure and comfortable when she is in

solitude in spite of a strong desire to stay in relation with others. The narrator conveys,

“Maria felt happiest when she was alone, by and large, but the thought of being always

alone terrified her, because she was only human, the source you might say of all her

problems” (TAW 6). Coe seems to have a wide perspective of the society and the
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individuals in it. He has made a fine blend of the merits and the demerits of loneliness.

He rightly considers it to be a state of despair and also at the same time a state of

happiness and comfort. Henry Davis Thoreau in Walden asserts, “I find it wholesome

to be alone the greater part of all the time. To be in company, even with the best, is

soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that

was so companiable as solitude” (117). Maria is a courageous and resilient woman who

has the undying capacity to intimidate the rasping realities of life detaching her own

self from others. Self-reliance is the habit of relying on one’s own power and abilities

amidst difficulties and dangers. Maria proves to be one such self-reliant woman who

has maintained her poise even in difficult situations at various stages of her life. Ralph

Waldo Emerson in Self-Reliance and Other Essays comments, “It is easy to see that a

greater self-reliance must work a revolution in all the offices and relation of men; in

their religion; in their education; in their pursuits; their modes of living; their

association; in their property; in their speculative views” (38). Self-reliance is very

essential to make sensible decision that paves way for a successful future. Friends

compulsorily need not be of the same age, but they can even be so elderly who have the

worldly experience to provide remedies and suggestions to the affected individuals.

Coe deems disbelief and distrust as by-products of loneliness. He gives a vivid

picture of incredulity in The Accidental Woman. Maria is incredulous and cautious in

not becoming a victim to male underhandedness. She is quite intelligent enough to shun

the love proposal of Ronny, her school mate, envisioning the problems lying ahead. She

wisely rejects, “And yet you know that I think you are foolish. If you think you can

control your life in this way, then why don’t you find another girl, one who knows what

you mean by those words” (TAW 4). Fore-thinking is a fine quality of man as it may

avoid complications in life. Being cautious to avoid mental agony cannot be considered
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malicious. Maria is cautious of not becoming a victim of male chauvinism. She is quite

capable of judging the malicious and the superficial attitude of the opposite gender

whose love seems to be so passionate and steadfast in the beginning of the relationship

and after certain time, it gradually begins to lose its charm for various reasons like

financial crunch, sexual incompatibility, marginalisation and extra-marital relationship.

Such factors hurt a woman to the extreme of winding up her love relationship with her

male counterpart. Unquestionably, when the human race becomes slave to the caprices

and whims and fancies of the modern and the consumerist culture, it digs its own pit

from which it is not able to extricate itself till the end.

Children consider their parents to be worthier than any other treasure in the

universe. They are not vengeful as they tend to readily forget the punishments, the

harsh words and the severe reprimand inflicted on them for their misbehaviour. The

biggest curse for them is being away from their parents. The novelist has presented

many such incidents in his novels. In The Accidental Woman, Maria is represented as a

lonely young girl who is highly affectionate to her family members. She craves to stay

with her parents and brother apart from school hours. She loves to enjoy her leisure

time in park with her family members as she has great love for the unique and

spectacular beauty of Nature. Coe reports:

The park. It was here one Sunday afternoon that Maria and her family

members were separated, by chance, for ten minutes at the most, but to

Maria it seemed longer, much longer. She can only have been seven or

eight. How she cried, and ran, and wandered, tearing her socks on the

brambles and falling, in the end, so hard that she could not get up, and

how they had called, Maria! Maria!, further and nearer, further and

nearer. (TAW 10)

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It cannot be denied that children trust or mistrust both the environment and their

parents for various reasons. When their needs are fulfilled with love and care, the

amount of trust they have for their parents gets strengthened. At the same time,

autonomy, excessive protection and shame result in mistrust. As they grow, they yearn

more for independence and self-esteem than any other comforts that their parents

provide to them. During their journey towards future, even a small gap between them

and their parents may pave way for constructing an unbreakable iron curtain that may

stand as a barrier to their amicable settlement at the end. When they are young, they

expect the unconditional love of their parents irrespective of their social and

economical status. The world of children is entirely different from the world of adults.

They do not want to be the passive audience of the coded messages exchanged between

their father and mother. At the same time, they do not want the repeated interruption

and the warning of their parents especially in the presence of others. It creates a kind of

negative attitude in them as they start doubting their capabilities and skills. Hence, Coe

advises the parents to understand the expectations and the need of their children and act

accordingly.

Change of place and characters prove to be futile to drive away Maria’s wish to

remain in isolation. Even though she is prepared to share bathroom and restroom with

her fellow students, she is not inclined to enjoy the companionship or cordial

relationship of them. She exchanges only the words of formality. She is unsuccessful in

maintaining friendship with her fellow students namely Charlotte, Fanny, Anthea and

Sarah. She chooses to lead a life of alienation as she doubts that such kind of close

relationship may hurt her fine feelings. The narrator points out, “On grey afternoons

Maria would go to Sarah’s room, or Sarah would come to Maria’s room, and they
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would pass the time together, perhaps in silence for there is not much to talk about,

even between friends” (TAW 33). Being a woman of reserved nature, she is not able to

discuss, share and find solutions to all her problems. Hence, she is forced to neglect or

to be neglected by others. Maria’s experiences that she has gained from her family

members and fellow students at school have made her an enigmatic character. She

remains passive throughout her life hoping that her perception about the world is right.

This is the prime cause for Maria’s failure. As a sensible human being, she ought to

have distinguished between good and evil to lead a successful life.

Immediate reversal of attitude is not possible as it takes time to realise both the

merits and the demerits of one’s behaviour. When a person is accustomed to a

particular kind of behaviour, it is quite challenging to digress from it. When an

individual because of his negative attitude undergoes humiliation, insults, betrayal and

ill-treatment of the society, he tries to mend his ways that ends in vain. Maria is one

such character in The Accidental Woman who tries to find a remedy to her chronic

illness of isolation and subsequently, she identifies and recognises that music is a

wonderful remedy to her loneliness. The narrator admits, “Booby borrowed his sister’s

front door key, and left. Maria, meanwhile, decided to take advantage of his absence by

listening to some music. It might be her only chance to enjoy the blackness and the

solitude” (TAW 64). This does not mean that Maria resents and reproaches Booby’s

presence at home but she prefers solitude. She has great love for music and hence, she

accepts it as the only panacea to cure her illness of seclusion. Undoubtedly, music has

the power to soothe a troubled heart and chaotic mind as Shakespeare in King Lear has

substantiated that music has the power to cure even the madness of King Lear.
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The cooperation and coordination extended by the family members at times of

mental disturbance may come as a boon to the depressed individual. Maria realises the

value of one such companionship with her brother Booby. To her dismay, she realises

that his immediate departure after his short stay with her has made her a frustrated and

a hopeless character. The narrator refers, “The train was late, they stood chatting and

holding hands, it grew warmer and less windy, and still Booby would not explain. As

his waving hand dwindled, Maria felt a sudden surge of loneliness” (TAW 66). Maria

distances from her desired close associates, her family members and her pet cat by

name Sefton. This poses as a serious problem to her.

It is difficult for a mother to desert her family, particularly leaving alone her

child under somebody’s custody to escape from the torture of her reckless husband. She

endures all the physical as well as the mental agony purely for the sake of her child.

Maria is a victim of the cruel treatment of her husband, Martin, as he is after Angela, a

typist in his office. Maria encounters and endures his betrayal only for the sake of her

son, Edward. The narrator narrates:

Why, though, had she herself not divorced Martin years ago, on the

grounds of mental cruelty, on the grounds of physical cruelty, on anyone

of any number of tenable grounds? She had considered the idea, often

enough, but had always decided against it, for the sake of her son,

Edward. (TAW 90)

Maria’s love for her son is true and unconditional but her condition becomes

worse than earlier when she is neglected by her own son Edward and too when he starts

considering his father Martin worthier than his mother. This makes her more
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remorseful than ever and ultimately she takes refuge in the world of loneliness. The

narrator explains, “To lose her son pained Maria no end, but to be free of Martin was in

every other way a relief. It freed her to move to London, and to live with Sarah, to

enter, in fact, upon one of her better phases” (TAW 103). Loneliness due to the betrayal

and neglect of both her husband and son is highly painful to Maria. The increase of old

age home is mainly due to the irresponsibility and the self-centred nature of the young

generation. Once again, this can be considered as the failure of modern British

Educational System and curriculum design that fail to impart traditional and moral

values in the minds of the young generation. In London, Maria gets an opportunity to

work in the office of a Women’s Magazine in Baker’s Street. Her job is to look after

the photograph library. She feels liberated from the merciless treatment of her husband.

Life has taught her the very harsh reality of the society where everyone is a puppet in

the hands of Fate. Her bitter experiences both in married and familial life have moulded

her as a more mature person than ever. Her decision to project her as a happy individual

is applaudable. Traces of revolutionary spirit and amicability are found in the character

of Maria only after her separation from her husband. She has gained mental poise and

maturity to convert her working place to a place of relaxation and relief on enjoying her

job. The narrator says, “…Maria’s working relationship with her colleagues was

healthy” (TAW 108). A transformation in the character of Maria is evident as she has

imbibed the ability of discernment and maturity. Coe advocates that the society has to

invent a world where its people can experience a blissful state of life. He also echoes

Rudyard Kipling’s view point in his poem If that none is too important and too

unimportant as everyone is important. Hence, it is everyone’s responsibility to choose

companions of credibility, compatibility and sacrifice to continue their friendship till

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death. This laudable relationship will be sung by the great writers of their era and thus,

their rarest association would become perennial and immortal in the pages of history.

It is quite ridiculous to conclude that an isolated individual leads a lonely life as

he has no trustworthy companion to give an outlet to his suppressed emotions and

feelings. It is because his mind is preoccupied with the thought of his close associates

among whom there may be categories of good and bad and best and worst and thus, he

proves that he remains with many. Maria, the central character in The Accidental

Woman, has come across many characters in her life but her true love is only for her

son Edward, her parents and her brother Bobby. She is quite aware that getting reunited

with her son is impossible as her husband stands as an obstacle in between them. She

very much longs to reunite with her parents and her brother to get relieved from her

lonely life in London. The pangs of loneliness prove to be very uncomfortable and

disgusting for quite a long period of time.

Maria decides to resign her job and move to her parents’ residence. Loneliness

which she assumes as the best choice has now become a pricking thorn. A

transformation of thought and attitude is quite evident in the following utterances of

Maria while conversing with her friend Sarah in London.

Nothing definite, as yet. I’m tired of London, Sarah. I think I might give

up my job, and leave. I know it’s not easy to get jobs any more, but I

have got to get away from here. I don’t know where I’ll go, yet. I

thought that just to start with I might go back to live at home, with my

parents. It’s so long since I’ve seen them properly, I feel I hardly know

them anymore. Bobby tells me they still keep my old room for me, just

as it used to be. It would be nice to go back there for a while. (TAW 132-

33)
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Coe is not against marriage. He advocates that the mankind should lead a

peaceful life without causing any physical or mental agony to anyone. Mutual

understanding, amiability, amicability, genuineness and love are the essential qualities

that humans have to cherish and nourish to avoid break-ups, divorce and failures as

they may become primary agents of a rift between life-partners. Remarriage is not a

crime or sin as it is a new beginning to the affected individual of widowhood or

divorce. Re-marriage is associated with greater socio-economic security and comforts

of life. It sometimes comes as a boon to the frustrated individual, for it has the charm

and power to subside the pain of the previous marriage. In The Accidental Woman,

Maria feels that remarriage may root out the sufferings of life, particularly the negative

aspects of loneliness. The sense of insecurity urges Maria to prefer marriage proposal

with her friend Ronny who has been constantly proposing right from her school days.

Maria humbly inquires, “Ronny, will you marry me?” (TAW 137). Fate seems to play

its mischievous role in Maria’s life at all possible ways. Her endeavour to reconstruct a

marital life unexpectedly ends in vain. The narrator bemoans, “But Ronny was more

than late, and after half an hour the truth of the matter was obvious. The bastard had

stood her up” (TAW 39). Ronny poses as too generous but he makes use of this as an

opportunity to take revenge on Maria as she has not reciprocated all his earlier love and

marriage proposals. Maria is betrayed and once again all her dreams, expectations and

hopes have been shattered into pieces. Hence, he has not turned up at the register office

on that day of marriage.

In The Accidental Woman, Coe has vividly portrayed the suffocation

experienced by an anguished woman who has been betrayed and benumbed by almost

all the characters that she has encountered in her life. The narrator in dismay admits:
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These people, former friends, former husbands, former colleagues,

brothers and mothers and fathers and sons, simply would not leave

Maria alone, and never more than when she was alone in every other

respect. Their voices and faces and sometimes bodies filled her thoughts,

dominated her feelings and dulled each and every one of her senses …

nothing would have pleased her more than to be able to dump them on

the way side. (TAW 143)

Leading a secluded life concedes both depression and discomfort. Maria, who is

in a state of chaos, is unable to choose the ways and means to lead her life. The narrator

sketches, “You see, in her simplicity, Maria had resolved to start a new life. She seems

to have believed that if she could only remove herself geographically from all the

people and places she wished to leave behind, then they would cease to exist” (TAW

143). Maria who has undergone a lot of bitter experiences in connection with all her

family members and acquaintances decides to cut off all her relationship with them.

Hence, it can be clearly understood that she has been betrayed by everyone around her.

The novelist in The Accidental Woman stresses one of his perspectives that loneliness

at many times acts as an effective tool to bestow composure, contentment, placidity and

serenity. The distraught Maria endures the humiliating experiences of her life. This is

not the same in Coe’s The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim as Max, the central

character, finally gets reunited with his wife, daughter and father. Coe is, therefore, of

the opinion that circumstances and one’s own attitude are highly responsible for the

miseries and happiness of an individual.

Coe in almost all of his novels has been constantly depicting the necessity of

getting employed to lead a satisfactory life. Undoubtedly, the better employment

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opportunity will surely release an individual from the economic, the social and the

political shackles and place him in the mainstream of life. Maria’s days at St. Jude’s, at

Oxford University, her marital life in Oxford and her life in London are all bitter,

horrible and miserable. She migrates to Chester where she receives no moral assistance

from anybody. But, she is fortunate enough to find an employment opportunity there

which really suits and satisfies her. The narrator draws:

She worked in a women’s refuge, a small cluster of house on a quiet side

of the city, whose exact location was kept a close secret. Here women

who had been forced to leave their husbands because of cruelty,

violence, or any of the other by-products of married life, could come and

take cover for a while, with their children if necessary, and could then

afford to feel relatively safe from the threat of pursuit and recapture.

(TAW 144)

As Maria is a victim of violence and betrayal, she seeks refuge in the Women’s

Refuge Centre but to her surprise she has got a job there. Coe explicitly advocates the

need for employment especially for women in The Accidental Woman, as it paves way

for women to enjoy social hierarchy and liberty.

Wife battering is a domestic violence that may force the victim to break off the

relationship from her husband in order to escape from the marriage bond. As a result,

she resorts to the world of loneliness. Coe highlights the issues related to wife battering

in The Accidental Woman. The narrator relates, “The boy was nine years old, they were

fleeing from a husband who had attacked and beaten them in a drunken rage, and Maria

had recognized them at once as Angela, her old nanny, and her son, Edward” (TAW

148). Martin is not only brutal and vicious towards Maria but also against Angela, his
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second wife. Both Maria and Angela are victims of wife battering. The novelist,

therefore, presents the condition of such a woman like Angela who is primarily

responsible for the separation of Maria from her husband and son. In order to escape

loneliness, Maria has been working in a Refuge Centre where Angela now seeks refuge

to safeguard herself and Edward, son of Maria. The novelist suggests his readers to

choose the right life partner to avoid familial issues like separation. Maria who is very

cautious in the beginning of the novel prefers a wrong choice in her marriage. It results

only in unbearable mental agony and torment to her. Coe is of the view that women

should be astute, courageous, self-reliant, sociable, tolerant and accommodative.

Simultaneously, he advocates men to be honest, lovable, trustworthy, compassionate,

sympathetic and understandable. The novelist loves to see a world that thrives in peace

and harmony.

A family unit is the basic component of togetherness and unity. In this social

institution, the members may extend their moral, spiritual and monetary support

whenever required. Coe in What a Carve Up! discusses the nature of a rich family unit

in England. He pictures the family gathering of the Winshaws on the occasion of

Mortimer Winshaw’s birthday. The narrator pictures:

It was Mortimer’s fiftieth birthday and to honour the occasion Lawrence

had organized a small but lavish dinner, to which the entire family –

even the outcast Tabitha – was invited. It would be the first time that

Rebecca, thirteen years her husband’s junior and still possessed of a

childlike, rather vulnerable beauty, had met them all at one sitting.

(WCU 9)
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A jubilant family gathering may bring in love, hope, trust, support and

understanding. The female characters in the novel, Tabitha and Mildred, have been

brooding over the death of Godfrey Winshaw. Godfrey is the brother of Tabitha and

husband of Mildred. Other members in the Winshaw family are not too much worried

about the death of Godfrey. Amidst such miserable condition, a family gathering is

really the rarest gift that may bring in unity and understanding.

Coe, in almost all his novels, projects both the advantages and the disadvantages

of loneliness. In What a Carve Up!, he portrays the life of an eighty one year old

recluse woman Tabitha Winshaw. The death news of her brother Godfrey who is

believed to have died in a German aircraft fire accident has shattered her world. The

novelist records, “She was not to step outside the walls of their establishment for

another nineteen years. During that time she rarely attempted to communicate with

other members of the family, or expressed any interest in receiving them as visitors”

(WCU 7-8). The novelist points out that the death of a family member can make his

close associate insane. It may also affect his social contact and status. Tabitha is

believed to have almost become mad and does not want even her close relatives to visit

her as she wants to be alone. Treason and treachery are anti-national and anti-social

elements which are considered to be punishable crime in any part of the world. Patriots

tend to avoid the relationship of such inhuman people. Tabitha chooses to remain as an

alienated individual as she finds these villainous qualities in most of her family

members.

Coe in What a Carve Up! has drawn a clear picture of modern man’s contempt

for joint family. Nuclear family has its own merits and demerits. The children suffer
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both mentally and physically due to the nuclear family system. Obstinacy and

selfishness are the main reasons for adopting the nuclear family setup. Rebecca, wife of

Mortimer conveys, “If we ever came to live here, darling, I should die. I’m sure I

would… why on earth should we come to live here? What a silly thing to say” (WCU

12). Rebecca has no love and concern for the Winshaw family. As Mortimer has

married Rebecca without inviting Mildred, wife of Godfrey, Rebecca feels that she is

ignored and hated by her family members. This self-generated thought forbids her from

staying together with her husband’s family. She is least bothered about the dignity and

the status of the family. Though she is not interested to live in Winshaw Towers, she is

very particular in inheriting the property of the childless Lawrence, the sibling of

Tabitha. Rebecca’s materialistic and self-centred attitude has made her a lonely

character and her haughty nature forces her to get separated from his family. Such

condition is absolutely appalling.

The novelist has captured the reserved and the biased attitude of the young

British generation who are interested in porn movies and sex relationship. They are

forced to sever social contact of good companions and sensible approach to sort out

their personal and social issues. In What a Carve Up!, Michael, a private detective-

cum-novelist is shown as a man of erotic pleasures. He is also very much delighted to

watch scenes of pornography and this particular aspect exposes him as a pervert. It is

this addiction that confines him within his room to watch such scenes on television.

This particular habit prevents him from communicating with others. When Fiona, his

neighbour approaches him to extend a bike ride to the hospital, there ensues a

conversation between them. Michael utters, “This is the longest conservation I’ve had –
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the most I’ve talked to someone – for something like two years. More than two years, I

think. The longest” (WCU 54). Coe exposes that sex has become an explicit material to

the younger generation. The youngsters today are able to get access to pornography

within the shortest possible time. It baffles them to decipher between normal sexual

behaviour and sexual behaviour of fantasy. Many of them believe that their sexual

fantasies and desires come true while watching porn movies. It also arouses an

unexplainable sort of perversion in the mind of the youngsters. Astonished Fiona

replies. “But that’s ridiculous. Have you been on a desert island or something?” (WCU

54). Coe makes a plea to the younger generation to have a wide perception as the world

is too big where they have plenty to learn and enjoy. He directs them to be socially

accountable to construct a blissful universe where brotherhood, love, oneness and

happiness prevail.

Coe has thrown light on the modern man’s attachment to his pet animals and

electronic gadgets more than their fellow-beings. In The Accidental Woman, Maria is

fond of her pet cat Sefton, in The Rain Before It Falls, Aunt Ivy pays more attention to

her spaniel Bonaparte than to her family members, in The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell

Sim, Maxwell Sim considers the GPS in his car to be his best companion by calling it

by name Emma, in The House of Sleep, Dr. Dudden considers his profession to be more

valuable than any other relationship in the world and in What a Carve Up! Michael

considers the television remote control and the video to be his two trustworthy

companions that could eliminate the pain of loneliness from his life. Michael admits:
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And then she was gone. For a few seconds after the door had closed

behind her I experienced a peculiar sensation: a feeling of loneliness.

But this loneliness was mingled with relief and before long the relief had

taken over, swamping me and calming me and guiding me gently back

to the arm chair and to my two friends, my trusted companions, the

remote control units for the television and the video, resting one on each

arm. I switched the machines on and pressed play….” (WCU 59)

Coe has pointed out that the younger generation goes in search of impractical

means and methods to liberate their selves from the dominance of loneliness. Confining

oneself with in a room and watching obscene movies can never be a permanent remedy

for loneliness. The younger generation should be prudent and pragmatic to get rid of

their weaknesses which the modern technology has thrust on them. Michael feels

comfortable while he is with Fiona. The moment Fiona leaves him, loneliness with its

wide-opened mouth engulfs his whole self and eventually benumbs his senses. It further

makes him feel that he is a heap of worthless garbage at the end. Once again, he is

forced to seek the company of videos and remote control for comfort. The younger

generation should become so earnest and genuine to escape from the world of electronic

devices and find harmony, joy and peace in the real world in which they pull on their

survival.

Coe, in almost all of his novels, searches for remedies to the problems faced by

his countrymen. The common problems faced by his people are depression, loneliness,

hatred, killings, corruption and neglect. The novelist has mentioned the failure of the
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broadcasting companies in providing entertainment programmes in What a Carve Up!

Hilary Winshaw, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer Winshaw, points out, “When will

these self-appointed nannies of the broadcasting mafia realize that what the British

people want, at the end of the day, is a bit of relaxation and a bit of fun…” (WCU 77).

Coe urges the broadcasting agencies to allot some time to entertain the British people

rather than focusing on or criticising the policies and the poor governance of the

government. Mr. Bean has become more popular only for the reason that he has

removed stress from the working class by making them laugh as well as think over his

hidden social message. People are forced to lead a mechanical life due to the

development of industries, factories and multi-national companies. They have almost

become like Talking Tom which is devoid of love, care and human values. People are

preoccupied with a thought about their career which they wish to undertake in addition

to dreaming of its prospects. They do not opt for entertainment or relaxation in their life

as they have become the prisoners of their illusionary world.

Like most of the novels of Coe, What a Carve Up! also depicts the horrors of

death and its irreparable consequences. Michael Owen laments, “Lawrence had died a

couple of years earlier and they now, as Rebecca had once fearfully predicted… In any

case, she too passed away within a few months of my visit…” (WCU 91). Lawrence is

the only person other than Mildred to shower affection and care on Tabitha. The death

of Lawrence and Godfrey prove to be an irreplaceable loss to Tabitha as these incidents

have furthermore intensified the affliction of loneliness. Mortimer’s love for his wife

Rebecca is sincere and true. The death of Rebecca makes him embrace the world of

depression and loneliness. Coe unmasks the spasm of loneliness and grief in most of his

novels. Desolation and rootlessness may affect a person’s expectation and ambition. The
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memories of the departed individual may haunt his beloved soul and complicate his life

further. Michael Owen, a victim of separation ruefully says, “Anyway, and then, as you

know, since Verity and I broke up, I haven’t been all that successful when it comes to. I

mean, it’s just not the job any more” (WCU 102). Michael laments for getting separated

from his wife and the dissociation between the two has made his life dull, monotonous

and meaningless. He has lost interest in him and his job. Coe indirectly claims that if

Michael had not been separated from his wife Verity, his life would have been different

and he would have been optimistic, enthusiastic and energetic. His wife might have

played the supportive role and encouraged him to reach the highest plane of life. The

novelist exhorts that the married partners should maintain mutual understanding to avoid

separation and its bad consequences. Fiona admits, “Oh yes, you’re not the only one to

have screwed up on that front” (WCU 150). Fiona in her conversation with Michael

about his separation from his wife Verity happens to give a gist of her separation from

her husband who has begotten three daughters from his first marriage. Through the

portrayal of this incident and the other incidents connected to it, Coe brings to limelight

that there are a considerable number of married people in England who have got

divorced out of compulsion, willingness and at times separation. A sense of identity

crisis is developed within the victim when he feels that his existence goes unnoticed,

ignored and unacknowledged. The narrator explains:

Phoebe stood in a corner of the gallery, where she had been standing for

the last quarter of an hour. Her wine glass was sticky in her hand, the

wine itself warm and no longer palatable. So far not one person had

stopped to talk to her, or even acknowledged her presence. She felt

invisible. (WCU 173)

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Marginalisation and exploitation due to poor social status and poor economic

status has become a common factor as every society witnesses in the competitive world

in which everyone considers the other as contestant. Coe in What a Carve Up! does not

fail to unravel the sufferings of secluded life experienced by the elite too. Phoebe

Barton, a nurse-cum-painter is ignored by the participants in a party. This may be of the

reason that Phoebe is not popular and of course for the reason that she is not very rich.

Poverty is another social evil that ostracises one’s own existence from his own society

and people.

Coe’s The Rain before It Falls has provided adequate information about the

nature of war like evacuation of children, bomb blasts and commotion in What a Carve

Up!. The novel also describes the devastating consequences of terrorism and the horrors

of war. Findlay, a private detective gives an account of the post-war trauma faced by a

war prisoner after his release from German jail. He narrates:

Well, it seems that he’d been picked up by the Germans and was

imprisoned for the rest of the war. Then, when it was over, he returned

home - anxious to be reunited with his family - but discovered that he

had been reported dead, and that his mother had never survived the

news. She’d died within a week of hearing it, and his father had

remarried little more than a year later. (WCU 220)

Jim Fenchurch, a war prisoner in Germany, is the co-pilot of Godfrey Winshaw.

After his release from jail, he comes home with an expectation of getting reunited with

his family as he has suffered a considerable period of loneliness in German jail.

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Unfortunately, he is disappointed to know that his mother has passed away. This

incident is so realistically narrated by Findlay to Michael. Jim decides to keep himself

away as his father has got remarried. He then migrates to Birkenhead assuming the

name John Farringdon and begins to lead a lonely and forlorn existence.

A man of timidity and cowardice is afraid to face challenging and risky

situations for fear of getting defeated or killed. They assume a lot and pine for what is

not required. The politicians of no proper policies try to squander the wealth of the

nation by false promises at the time of election to fill their vote-banks. The money that

they have earned so far through crooked means plays a pivotal and decisive role in

polls. The black money flows freely in the political market. The politicians, like the

strutting cocks, are followed by the fake and paid followers. In short, it can be said that

election is a time of political festival for which corruption is the most powerful

foundation. Those politicians who pretend to be too generous never hesitate to put an

end to the life of his own follower for his political benefits. Though not the direct

victim of such literal political game, John Farringdon is one such character in What a

Carve Up! who leads a life of loneliness in fear of being killed by the pitiless men of

the Winshaw family. It is mainly because he is the only person who knows the secret

that lies behind the death of Godfrey Winshaw. In order to save his life, he has assumed

a new name. Michael discloses, “He drifted around and went to seed a bit and did all

sorts of jobs under different names. John Farringdon was one of them, and Jim

Fenchurch was another” (WCU 472-73). Though not a criminal, Farringdon has to

disguise for the sake of his own life as well as the life of his son Michael. He never

wishes to live with his son as it may pose a threat to the life of his son.
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Lack of sexual interest or denial of sex from the life partner is also a serious

problem that may lead to the divorce or the separation of the married couple. If anyone

of the life-partners is moody, emotional and abnormal, it may cause mental cruelty

which is more horrible than physical harm. The narrator acknowledges, “George

Brunwin had never been hugged by his wife, and it was many years… There had been,

between Dorothy and himself, an absolute physical incompatibility” (WCU 241-42). As

Dorothy Winshaw has no sexual desire, her husband George becomes more depressed

and worried. As a frustrated individual, he picks up the choice of loneliness by staying

away from his wife. The narrator says, “He had started drinking to combat the

loneliness. Not the loneliness he had sometimes felt when he ran the farm by himself,

and would often spend whole days in the proud, kingly solitude of the moors, with only

sheep and cattle for company” (WCU 244). In order to get relieved from loneliness,

George becomes an addict to alcohol. Coe exposes that George in order to escape from

one serious problem gets into another serious issue. The novelist makes it clear that

alcohol can never be a remedy to loneliness. This may add misery to the existing

problems.

The unfulfilled dreams cause conflict in the minds of the individuals that result

in fear about the present as well as the future. Michael shudders, “She’d never say

anything about it, but it’s been tearing us both apart; and if it turns out to be something

serious, I don’t know how I’d cope, I really don’t” (WCU 352). Michael grows fond of

Fiona as he identifies that both of them are sailing in the same boat. Hence, he develops

love for her and he is direly in need of her company. He expresses his feeling to a

seventy four year old man Norman that a life without Fiona will be one of futility and
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fragmentation. He cannot even imagine his life without Fiona. Michael confesses,

“Fiona was everything now” (WCU 358). Coe has realistically depicted the fear of a

man who has already experienced the pain of separation from his wife. Fortunately, he

finds a suitable life-partner who may enrich his life by showering love and care. His

previous experience makes him afraid of facing another betrayal and separation from

his loved one. Coe is of the opinion that enlarging the circle of friends by making use

of the available opportunity is highly pragmatic. The narrator conveys:

He had no friends as such, but still managed to attract more than a

hundred and fifty guests, drawn partly by the promise of each other’s

glittering company and partly by stories of the extravagant hospitality

for which Mark’s house in Mayfair was famous…Mark wandered

between groups of people, occasionally stopping to say hello, even more

occasionally stopping to say a few words, but otherwise as aloof and

inscrutable as ever. (WCU 369)

Mark, son of Mildred’s failure to expand and extend his close circle is quite

evident of his failed personality. He throws a party on Christmas Eve and he is

surprised to see a large gathering of various professions in the party than he has

expected. The reserved and uncommunicative Mark throws the party not to strengthen

the relationship with his friends but to display his wealth. Coe immediately brings

before the readers a contrary character Lady Frances Carfax, the wife of Mark, who is

highly sociable and friendly with all the guests present there. The narrator says,

“Meanwhile his young and beautiful German wife (he had married quite recently)
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seemed to be so busy attending to the guests that nobody saw her speak to her husband

once all evening” (WCU 369). When Mark is unable to enjoy the party, his wife joins

the party and offers a warm welcome to the guests. Though the party is arranged by

Mark, it is his wife who plays an active role in the party as she is warm-hearted. The

novelist describes that a kind word and a lovable gesture may fetch an incredible and a

spectacular human circle. On the contrary, the introvert spoils the mirth and joy of the

whole atmosphere.

Coe makes it clear that the sufferings of loneliness experienced by an intimate

friend or lover will surely aggravate the mental anguish of the beloved. Mortimer,

Tabitha’s brother, is very much pained to learn that his sister has been alienated and

disrespected by the family members. And as a result, she is forced to take refuge in a

lunatic asylum in loneliness. Mortimer who is also betrayed by his children firmly

decides to rescue his sister from the pitiable state and he makes arrangements for the

same. Everett Sloane, the solicitor reads the Will of Mortimer to the other family

members. The solicitor, in the very beginning of the Will reads:

I hope and pray that, for one might at least, my dear sister Tabitha will

be released from her outrageous confinement in order to be present at

what promises to be a unique and, dare I say it, never-to- be-repeated

family gathering. I hope, too, that she will be joined by my most loyal

and selfless nurse, Miss Phoebe Barton, whose grace, charm and

gentleness have been a source of great comfort to me in the last year of

my life. (WCU 437)

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Mortimer is the only compassionate family member who is able to understand

the sufferings of Tabitha. Even at his death bed, he laments over the insecure and the

pathetic life of the unmarried Tabitha. He too in his last days of life has not escaped

from the clutches of loneliness, but he is fortunately nursed and assisted by Phoebe

Barton. She is none but a victim of Mortimer’s son Roddy’s ruthless act of molestation.

Mortimer decides to rescue the life of Tabitha by appointing Phoebe to accompany

Tabitha in the forth coming days. Coe, here, seems to convey a message that a sufferer

of loneliness has a greater chance to understand and identify the sufferings of others.

As Mortimer does not wish his sister to be in the asylum right from the death of

Godfrey, he takes necessary steps to rescue Tabitha before his death. Love, compassion

and pity, the basic components of all the world religions, are required as they can solve

most of the miseries of mankind.

Most of Coe’s characters are the victims of loneliness as they always pull on

their survival in a state of depression and dejection. Robin Grant, the protagonist in A

Touch of Love, is one such character who is frightened of the society and hence, he opts

for loneliness. The novelist introduces Robin as “peculiar” and “depressed” (ATL 7).

Loneliness is indubitably a major precipitant of depression. The victim of loneliness

becomes pessimistic in thought and attitude and begins to feel that the entire world has

turned against him. Coe is paradoxical while he supports loneliness as an essential

factor to a perplexed individual. Robin says, “I need to get away. I need to be alone. I

feel frightened” (ATL 12). The novelist also considers loneliness as a panacea that

could drive away confusion and depression. To him, it is another form of relaxation but

certainly only for a very short period of time. If it prolongs, it will be highly dangerous

and embarrassing.
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Coe in almost all his novels stresses the need for a peaceful and cheerful family.

In A Touch of Love, he has nowhere mentioned that an individual should desert his

family or confront loneliness or remain single. He wishes the entire society to be

sociable and lovable. Robin acknowledges, “I’ve got to get away. And I’ve always

wanted to go back to the Lakes… I used to go up there with my family. My parents and

my sister. One of the things I’ve been thinking, the last few days, is how much I miss

my family” (ATL 12). Loneliness, like a contagious plague, affects not only the ailing

individual but also whoever comes in contact with him. An individual of family interest

has the power to be courageous and robust, as he always gets the moral, financial and

spiritual support whenever he lacks them all.

Coe opines that every individual should be very cautious on every word that he

utters as it may cause a breach in his relationship with others. Robin suggests, “… a

word can be a lethal weapon… One word can destroy the work of a million others. A

misplaced word can undo anything: a family, a marriage, a friendship” (ATL 16). The

novelist is very firm in his view point that relationship needs to be maintained and

nurtured to escape from loneliness and other human issues related to it. Proper

utterances will result in maintaining a good relationship with others. Robert Frost in the

poem Mending Wall rightly says, “Good fences make good neighbors” (27). The view

of Coe is a little contrary to the view of Frost. He in A Touch of Love asserts,

“Friendship, he had always believed, was a meeting of minds, like marriage” (ATL 17).

In A Touch of Love, the novelist tries to impart a message to his readers that real friends

like Robin do act as curators to the mental conflict and agony of the affected; instead,
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the selfish ones like Ted do worry only about the fulfilment of their own dreams, goals

and tasks. Though Ted has married Robin’s lady-love, Robin extends his helping hand

to Ted at the time of crisis. Coe emphasises the need for mutual understanding between

friends and life-partners. Joseph Epstein in Friendship: An Expose points out:

Friendship is the strongest of relationships not bound by or hostage to

biology, which is to say, blood…Friendship does not arise out of

necessity, but out of preference. Unlike our family, which we have no

say in choosing, our friendships are based almost entirely on personal

selection. (1)

It is the strength of friendship that determines the success, dignity and social

status of a person. Good friends play significant role by motivating and encouraging

their friends to get rid of their miseries, particularly the pain of loneliness.

Racism is a kind of resurrection for an immigrant who is pushed to erase his

identity and emerge as an individual with multiple or partial identity for he undergoes

social, moral and cultural seclusion in an unknown land. It evokes a feeling of

rootlessness. He is a subaltern in a foreign land where he hovers only on the periphery

of life. Most probably such character must have built castles in the air hoping that the

foreign land would be a heavenly abode for their survival but everything ends in vain

the moment when he realises that he is only a marginalised individual there. Aparna, an

Indian girl who pursues her education at a university in England for about six to seven

years becomes a victim of marginalisation, racism and loneliness as she has to confine

herself with very little acquaintances. Robin explains:

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Racism doesn’t have to be blatant. It doesn’t have to be sudden, either,

and it can happen anywhere. She got tired of being thought of as foreign;

she got tired that it was always the first thing people noticed about her

… She fought hard to be taken seriously, but it hasn’t worked. And now

she thinks that even I’m no different. (ATL 18-19)

Aparna and Robin have been good friends but the criticism against Aparna’s

race particularly by her professor has infuriated and insulted her. In addition, she has

developed hatred against the British society as well as her study in England. As she has

been very much humiliated, she decides to discard her academic association in the

university to lead a life of loneliness.

Coe constantly keeps on suggesting ways and means to escape or prevent

loneliness in A Touch of Love. Like friendship, marriage can also make a person happy

by getting a suitable companion. Coe has also discussed a lot about the causes and the

consequences of failed marriages. He makes it clear that it is the wrong choice and

misunderstanding that are the threatening factors that spoil the happy married life.

Unlike Robin, Ted, friend of Robin, believes in marriage bond. He declares, “I know

one thing, Robin. I was never really happy before I married Katherine” (ATL 21). Ted

believes marriage to be a sacred union where mutual love is showered forth by the

couple as they gradually develop understanding, affection, love and care in-between

them. The holy union has the capacity to convert even an irresponsible person into a

highly responsible and practical minded person. It instils in him the sense of duty,

safety and sacrifice to maintain joy, harmony and understanding among family

members.
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Coe considers alcoholism as one of the major consequences of loneliness which

has become quite common today in the contemporary world. When questioned, the

drug addicts come out with various reasons for their unhealthy habit. Alcohol is

consumed both in the happiest and the unhappiest occasions and at many times for no

valid reason. Thus, it occupies an important place in most of the persons’ life. Robin is

a lover of alcohol who ignores Ted’s advice to avoid consuming too much alcohol.

Robin says, “It’s not the drink. I can get that at home. It’s the company” (ATL 29). Coe

does not fail to capture the actual mental state of the depressed and the lonely man who

goes to the bar in order to seek the company of others rather than getting pleasure out

of drinking. The fragmented individuals fail to realise that there are many other social

gatherings like marriage celebrations, prayer halls, parks and theatres where one can

enjoy the absolute ecstasy of those occasions foregoing and forgetting his own troubles

and sufferings.

Coe is of the opinion that the life-partners in spite of living together and sharing

food and bed together, they do not actually experience any real connection in between

them. The narrator points out, “… there is merely a certain coldness at the breakfast

table, a certain tiredness about their lovemaking, an almost too obvious effort to be

made when it comes to taking an interest in each other’s work” (ATL 91). Emma, a

lawyer by profession in A Touch of Love, experiences loneliness at her own home

where she and her husband do not experience mutual understanding and sincere love.

The novelist has excellently portrayed the consequences of such suffering in his work.

He admits, “The shouting, the sulks, the suspicion, the blunt recriminations, the

unexpected fear- these are treats which life still holds in store for Emma” (ATL 91).
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Emma faces familial commotion and work tension which initially makes her feel

wearied and worried. She very quickly understands her potential to suppress her

problems without the assistance of anybody and proves her to be an emancipated

woman. What is unique about Coe’s writings is that he does not stop with discussing

the problems of loneliness, divorce, love failure, violence and betrayal, but also

exposes the consequences of these negative factors and suggests suitable remedy for

the same.

Coe attempts to reveal that suicidal tendency is also one of the consequences of

loneliness that can completely sweep off the physical and mental health of the victim.

A character named Lawrence in Robin’s second story entitled The Lucky Man in A

Touch of Love is presented as a character with suicidal tendency. Later, Lawrence is

identified as none other than the protagonist Robin himself. He has recorded, “…

Lawrence had suicidal tendencies, and he had promised to keep him in the house until

she arrived’’ (ATL 109). Lawrence is a forlorn character who has enjoyed no real love

relationship and hence, he has developed an interest in same-sex relationship

considering it as the best outlet. His fear of being caught by the police makes him meek

and weak. As a result, he decides to stay away, though he has too much aversion for

segregated life-style. It is quite discernible that the constant fear that haunts him for no

genuine reason will distort him and his life in many ways.

An agonised soul that has been constantly experiencing loneliness either tries to

find out a better companion or begins to grieve over the past, though he is quite aware

that both the options cannot offer him relief. Aparna, an Indian student in England
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laments, “God, I miss my parents, Robin. You don’t know. Six years. I miss them…”

(ATL 171). Aparna who has entered England with great enthusiasm with a desire to find

a better prospect is humiliated and mentally tortured only for the reason that she is an

Indian. Other than Robin, all her fellow students as well as her research supervisor

express their hatred for her and avoid communication with her. This makes her think of

her good old days with her parents in India where she was well-cared, loved and

pampered by everyone around her.

Coe takes an impartial stand while accusing men for breaking relationship and

developing misunderstanding with their intimate ones. Aparna, who has been

neglected, ignored, humiliated and betrayed by her companions at the university begins

to identify and realise the nature of men within a relationship. Aparna asserts, “Men

usually don’t. As soon as they start feeling real friendship for a woman then they can’t

cope with it anymore, so they convert it into something romantic. And that’s when

everything falls apart” (ATL 175-76). Aparna here points out the failure of Robin who

fails to fit in with a relationship and at the same time, she brings out her bitter

experiences in England. The idea about the foreign country and the people in it cannot

be completely considered wrong as the people in the modern world have failed to

understand even their close associates like their parents, brothers and sisters with whom

they have spent quite a long period of time, but there are exceptions too.

Detachment, in addition to alcoholism, is considered another major cause of

loneliness. Getting detached from a lovable relationship, even if it may be temporary, it

can force the affected to choose the world of loneliness and pain. The novelist has
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attempted a realistic portrayal of isolation and the pangs of it in The Rain Before It

Falls. The novel offers a clear picture of the causes and the consequences of attachment

and detachment. The narrator explains, “These occasional moments of detachment

alarmed her - they felt like panic attacks….” (RBF 5). Gill, the niece of Rosamond, is a

dynamic personality who is too generous, kind, sympathetic, truthful, magnanimous

and lovable character to be detested by others. Her love to stay connected with her two

daughters, Catherine and Elizabeth, is an epitome of mother’s heart. Even though she

resides with her husband Thomas, she undergoes the intense pain of loneliness, while

her daughters have to move to London to pursue their studies. Though such occasions

are inevitable, it appears quite understandable to her.

Living without a legal heir or a life-partner or a blood relation can force a

person, particularly, an aged person to lead a reclusive life. Coe narrates, “Rosamond

had left no children. Her longtime companion - a woman called Ruth - had died some

time ago, back in the 1990s. Her sister Sylvia was also dead, and there was no bequest

to her brother - in - law Thomas” (RBF 7). There is no evidence that the novelist is a

staunch believer of fate like William Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy and John Millington

Synge, but he stresses a valid point that loneliness is a universal problem faced by

people of all ages and countries. In The Rain before It Falls, Rosamond tries to escape

loneliness by associating herself with other characters like Rebecca, Ruth, Sylvia and

Imogen. Unfortunately, all these characters voluntarily or involuntarily quit from her

life that has landed her in the world of dismay, distress and pain.

Coe makes it clear that the lonely individuals do have more care and concern for

other lonely characters as they have already been exposed to the pain and the
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suffocation of loneliness. Rosamond is an adorable personality as she is grateful to

almost all her acquaintances for having accompanied and helped her to drive away

loneliness at least for a short period of time. The narrator admits, “… Rosamond had

divided her estate three ways: one-third each to her niece and nephew, Gill and David,

and the remaining third to a stranger; a near-stranger, anyway, as far as they were

concerned. Her name was Imogen…” (RBF 8). Rosamond fondly reminisces all her

intimate relations and one among them is the little soul Imogen, daughter of Thea.

Though Rosamond has not got a chance to meet or talk to or hear about Imogen for

quite a long period of time, she, in spite of the loneliness at her old age, is generous

enough to provide a share of her property to Imogen whose whereabouts is unknown to

her.

No relationship on the earth can be compared to the role played by a mother.

When one is neglected by his mother or lives permanently away from one’s mother, it

will definitely cause a horrible feeling of loneliness. Imogen says, “I don’t live with my

mother” (RBF 11). The statement is obviously an excruciating one, both for the listener

and the speaker. This expression is a perfect example to understand the agony of

loneliness. This utterance of Imogen cannot be considered as a casual statement. It is an

outcome of suppressed feeling and mental agony.

Leading a solitary life is not easy as one can imagine the other way. Coe presents

characters who live in solitude and others who live in association with others. In The

Rain Before It Falls, Rosamond, a seventy three year old woman has led a good part of

her life in solitude without depending much on others. On the other hand, Gill is unable
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to spend even a single day in Rosamond’s house after her death. Gill concedes, “It’s

miserable here. I can’t stand it. How did she stand it, for heaven’s sake? I’m sorry, but

there’s no way I’m going to spend the night in this place… I can’t face it” (RBF 20).

Coe is exemplary in projecting the contrasting attitude of his characters. He gives an

account of human tendency that protests and accepts loneliness. The narrator describes,

“She entered a sort of trance-like state, and drove slowly, never faster than forty miles

an hour, unaware that impatient cars were queued up behind her. Her thoughts were

drifting randomly, dangerously, floating and untethered” (RBF 21). The eerie

atmosphere of solitude anchors the life of the perplexed individual in the world of

chaos, anxiety and death. Both the loneliness and the death of Rosamond have alarmed

Gill while she is on her way to David’s house. David is none but her brother. She

almost reaches the state of trance, while driving her car which she shudders as a

dangerous and life threatening circumstance. A person who has been living very close

with his family and friends may find difficult to stay alone. If circumstances demand

so, they may find it to be the most unbearable task assigned to them in awkward

situation.

Coe has expressed his strong contempt and hatred for war and its supporters. He,

in his novels, has also openly condemned the IRA bombings, Margaret Thatcher’s

support role for the USA during the Second World War, the attack on Kuwait and the

bombing of Libya. War is an unwanted one that creates only negative and devastating

effects on the life of young soldiers and their family members. The futility of the

prolonged war deteriorates both the physical and the mental vigour of the soldiers and

also spoils the peace and economy of the country. The consequences of war that are
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spine-chilling find an apt expression in The Rain Before It Falls. Coe has also candidly

pictured the evacuation of children during the Second World War. Rosamond narrates,

“The biggest upheaval came at the very beginning of the war, when hundreds of

thousands of children - more than a million, even - were taken away from their parents

by train in the space of a few days” (RBF 38). Coe has recorded the suffering of

children in England during the Second World War as some of them have no other way

but to get separated from their parents to escape the brutal attack of war. But, unlike

most of other children, Rosamond is fortunate enough to move out of her place to her

aunt’s house in Shropshire.

Possessiveness also results in self-isolation. Aunt Ivy’s love for her dogs is

admirable. Her eleven-year-old daughter Beatrix feels that she is ignored as her mother

pays more attention only to her dogs especially to a spaniel named Bonaparte.

Possessiveness brings no comfort except gloomy attitude and loneliness. Rosamond

describes:

Whenever she was alone with me, she was a different person: insecure,

ill at ease, afraid of the world. I do not think that this is just an effect I

have on people. I think that this was her true self emerging.

Fundamentally I believe that she disliked herself and that to be left

alone, with only her own self for company, was the very thing that she

feared the most. (RBF 48)

Coe’s love for pet animals is quite evident in The Accidental Woman and The

Rain Before It Falls. The novelist indirectly advocates the parents to shower care and
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affection on their children to avoid developing complex feelings among them as it

creates depression, sorrow and loneliness. Such condition may spoil the future of the

children which in turn may affect the society to the extreme. While discussing the

issues of children, the novelist has not even in a single line mentioned about the infant

mortality. It shows that the advancement of medicine in England has been excellent and

the people of England have been quite aware of the vaccinations and other preventive

measures implemented for the welfare of the children.

It is not surprising to learn that an individual who wishes to extricate himself

from facing the cobweb of loneliness seeks a better companion with whom he can

prolong his survival with mutual understanding and love. Rosamond narrates, “… it

was ‘their’ place, it belonged to the family by whom she felt so rejected, and so she

chose somewhere else, somewhere quite separate, as the place where she and I should

pursue our friendship” (RBF 53). Rosamond’s friendship is the only means of solace to

the brooding Beatrix who begins to feel like quitting her own house and find a

residence for both of them to lead a comfortable carefree happy life. Loneliness is a

common experience that no one can escape from it. Moreover, it is quite acceptable that

one’s home is the best place to live. What is more pathetic is that some people

experience loneliness even at their home and among their own family members as they

may be selfish, callous, materialistic, cruel, biased and arrogant.

Tears proclaim both the happiest and the unhappiest occasions. Nostalgia and

loneliness may make a person so morose and ill-tempered and as a result, the affected

individual never hesitates to express his frustrated attitude publicly in front of others.
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Loneliness is obviously an unhappy state. Rosamond admits, “… after my arrival at

Warden Farm I was soon feeling a sense of loneliness and homesickness which I find it

impossible to describe. I was beside myself with happiness. I would sob quite openly in

front of Ivy and Owen…” (RBF 55). Even though there are six members in the Warden

Farm including the cook, Rosamond is unable to bear the pain of loneliness that

torments her quite often. She is unable to consider Warden Farm to be her home as she

finds it very difficult to accommodate her in it. Coe believes that one’s home, parents

and family can never be substituted by anything and anyone. The novelist has conveyed

a truth to the world that loneliness can be felt even when surrounded by people. It is a

feeling of discomfort, distress, agony and insecurity that deteriorates both the physical

and the mental health of the alienated individual.

Coe has written about loneliness among children that creates in them the feeling

of being neglected, unloved and uncared. Every child longs for mother’s love, care and

affection. Obscene and vulgar remarks in addition to indifferent attitude of a mother

may cause a serious damage to the child’s emotional poise. Right from schooling, they

begin to seek for good friends who later become close companions to them. It is quite

obvious that the gift of good friendship can heal wounds of loneliness. Rosamond

explains, “We turned our faces away from the farmhouse and set off into the woods,

leaving it behind forever” (RBF 59). Rosamond’s arrival to Beatrix’s house gradually

diminishes the adverse effects of the loneliness of Beatrix. Hence, she decides to be in

acquaintance with Rosamond as she recognises her as a suitable companion. This

decision pervades them to move out of the house and make their own world where both

of them may share love and affection with each other. They need a world where they
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can get much importance for love, care and attention to their emotions. Through this

incident Coe makes an implicit plea to the parents to show unconditional love and

affection to make them realise and understand the harsh realities of life so that they

may not become frustrated individuals in life.

Coe highlights that marriage brings in a good companion that drives away the ill-

effects of loneliness. The novelist has discussed the blissful happiness of successful

married life as well as the horror of failed marriages. Most of the married couples in

Coe’s novels experience loneliness and depression. In The Rain Before It Falls, he

exposes the reality that lies behind the successful married life of Gill, niece of

Rosamond and the reasons that lie behind the failed married life of Beatrix and Thea.

The dejected individual of failed married life embraces or accepts loneliness when his

relationship with his companion proves to be itching, awful, frightening, unfriendly and

disloyal. Rosamond points out, “Beatrix and Roger had no future together, from the

very earliest days of their marriage” (RBF 93). Coe believes that the failed marriages

may thwart the life of a person and force him to develop suspicion against others which

in turn complicates the whole lifestyle of the individuals concerned. Rosamond admits,

“At the time, I suppose I must just have taken it for granted that this was what married

life was like” (RBF 93). As Rosamond is pre-occupied with such negative thought, she

decides to stay as a spinster throughout her life. Towards the end of her life, she lives in

solitude with the occasional assistance extended by her niece Gill.

Coe believes that entertainment and recreation have the power to drive away the

gloomy atmosphere of loneliness. This view is echoed in almost all his works. His
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central characters Max, Maria and Rosamond decide to quit the entangled world of the

grudging relationship and lead a life of their own in which they can get undue

importance to their self-respect. Picnic is also a form of entertainment that can be a

panacea for a tormented and depressed soul. Rosamond spells, “The happiest times I

can remember spending with them were when we drove out – twice, I think – to the

Long Mynd for a picnic” (RBF 94). Whenever Beatrix and Rosamond are in the

company of each other, they feel complacent and delighted. A picnic for Rosamond

along with Beatrix, Beatrix’s baby, Thea and her husband, Roger is undeniably a

joyous, entertaining and comforting one. Getting confined within one’s room is the

bitterest punishment inflicted both by the individual concerned and all other opponents.

There are people who get addicted to smoking and alcoholism that spoil the entire life

of the victim. The novelist suggests the readers to relax themselves by enjoying a trip

with family or friends, listening to music, watching movies and reading books for

pleasure. Relaxation is an advisable activity needed for the devastated human society.

The wreck of a love affair may prefer the world of loneliness. Maurice’s love for

Rosamond is quite sincere and true. She has no belief and trust in marriage or a male

companion. At the same time, she does not want to lead an isolated life. Hence, she

enters into a perverted sexual relationship with Rebecca, a third year student at King’s

College. When Maurice learns about Rosamond’s clandestine love affair with Rebecca,

he feels disgusted, horrified and betrayed. Rosamond narrates:

When I unlocked the door he bursts into the room looking pale and

feverish, his hair in wild disarray, like a mad thing. But he did not stay

for long. Doubtless he had many things that he wanted to say to me but

when he saw that Rebecca was lying in my bed, naked, he stared at her
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disbelievingly for a few seconds, then turned on his heels and left. He

never spoke to me again after that. It was an unfortunate way to end the

affair, on the whole. (RBF 129)

Maurice is shattered to witness the perfidious attitude of Rosamond. Her love

for Rebecca is deeper than her love for Maurice and hence, the betrayal of Rosamond is

unbearable to him. Hence, he is forced to breakup with Rosamond once for all. A

sudden wreck of a love relationship, that too after betrothal is intolerable to the victim

as his mind is obsessed with such humiliating and shameful experience that has been

deep-rooted in his mind. It may shatter the life of a person who may certainly develop a

feeling of hatred for the opposite sex. Unfortunately, this may certainly transform a

person either into a misogynist or a misanthrope.

Most of the women characters of Coe are noteworthy and admirable for their

lovable and compassionate quality. In The Rain Before It Falls, Rebecca develops true

love for Imogen, though she is in no way connected to the girl child. The isolated life of

the girl child makes her life miserable and agonising. She decides to quit every home in

the world as she does not fit into any one of them. She not only decides to leave the

locale but also decides to break up her relationship with Rosamond as she is unable to

live there without Imogen. The separation of Imogen and Rebecca from Rosamond has

made the condition of Rosamond further worse. Rosamond grieves, “So I was quite

alone” (RBF 165). Rosamond’s intimate relationship that she has maintained all

throughout her life has ended only in failure. Beatrix’s marriage to Roger results in

creating a gap between them. Imogen is forced to wind up her relationship with

Rosamond only to enter the world of loneliness where she undergoes only chaotic

experiences. She narrates:

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I’d been single for a very long time. Rebecca’s departure, and my

consequent loss of daily contact with Thea, had brought on terrible

sadness, which had long since settled on me and become a fixture. I had

grown accustomed to living with this dull, insistent pain, which had a

habit of flaring up, whenever I saw Thea, into something more deadly

and piercing. (RBF 183)

Coe exposes the expectation of the human society that puts forth frantic effort to

keep in touch with the people around them. It may bring forth a combined feeling of

both “joy and torture” (RBF 183). Staying connected often brings in happiness whereas

the world of detachment offers only painful experiences. Rosamond says, “I knew that I

had just two weeks to enjoy her company. After that it would be back to London, work

and loneliness” (RBF 183). Whenever loneliness haunts Rosamond, she thinks of

visiting Beatrix to get solace and comfort from her. She gets an outlet to her suppressed

emotions when she associates herself with Beatrix’s two daughters, Thea and Alice.

She knows that she cannot be there for a long time as she has to get back to London to

join duty as she understands that a long stay there may definitely spoil the relationship.

Her happiness is short-lived as she has to experience once again the pangs of loneliness

in London in addition to fighting against it. A tormented soul experiencing the pangs of

loneliness always aspires to stay connected or spend time with others or share their

feeling of wretchedness with a trustworthy and loyal companion. Confiding one’s

secret with a loyal and genuine person may pacify the pain of distress and misery. The

novelist points out that love, care and entertainment for children will surely drive away

the stress and the humiliation of loneliness.

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The day of celebrating Christmas is an unwelcoming one for a lonely individual

as it is a festive occasion of social and familial gathering during which every individual

rejoice, revel and enjoy the religious celebration, whereas the door of mirth is closed to

the alienated individuals. This emotional pain of loneliness may sever one’s personal,

social and moral relationship. Rosamond is a victim of such a state. Rosamond

describes:

Christmas was always a problem, in those days. It is a difficult time for

the single woman…I was still alone, and still living with my bedsit in

Wandsworth, although in another respects, life was starting to

improve… In the meantime, I was not sanguine at the prospect of

another Christmas spent in spinsterly isolation… There seemed to be an

assumption that, because I lived alone in London, I must have been part

of a wildly Bohemian circle of like-minded souls, and the idea of

conventional family Christmas in Shropshire would have horrified me.

(RBF 197-98)

Rosamond’s loneliness during memorable, joyous and festival occasions makes

her feel worse than ever before. She has none to share her thoughts or express her wish

on a joyous occasion. She feels that such occasions are the rarest ones as those days

may not come back in her life. It is discernible that she hates to be in a pathetic state of

loneliness and hence, she feels that it is better to die rather than experiencing such

horrific moments of loneliness. Coe’s power as a writer is excellent in his description

of capturing the very nature of human beings who are companionless particularly

during the time of celebration. Most of the characters created by the novelist are lonely

and depressed. The novelist considers this to be a modern threat to the human beings as
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most of them have become unsociable and miserable. People have become

irresponsible and perverted due to the sufferings that they have experienced in life.

They have become self-centred, materialistic and dreadful of the events and action they

witness in the society. Coe seems to be in dilemma whether to put the entire blame on

the individuals or on the society. He is of the view that people have to explore the harsh

reality of life and act according to the necessity with determination and not harming

others. He strongly stresses that an individual should be optimistic to arrive at ideal

resolutions that are worthy and innocuous to be executed in his life.

Coe opines that a good family sharing their joys and sorrows openly with their

family members may not witness loneliness and bitter consequences. An offensive

word may turn the family peace topsy-turvy. Thea accuses, “Telling me all the time

how useless and stupid and ugly I am, how she wishes I’d never been born? Calling me

every name under the sun? Accusing me of being a lesbian?” (RBF 206-07). Coe has

pictured Thea as a young girl who inflicts constant pain on Beatrix, her mother. A

mother accusing her own child as an ugly one is shocking and agonising. Beatrix’s

harsh words are the outcome of her fury and her dissatisfaction in married life. The

young Thea has become the victim of her mother’s disgraceful utterances and attitude

that have persuaded her to choose the life of loneliness and negligence. Through such

incidents, the novelist brings to light that even the mothers in England have gradually

turned into cold-hearted individuals. They fail to shower true love and affection on their

children which is symbolic of degradation of moral values and culture not only in

England but also throughout the world.

Coe is at his best in discussing the contemporary social, political and economic

issues. He also offers suggestions, advice and opinions regarding the issues mentioned
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above. Rosamond says, “… wipe the slate clean. Forget them. Forget all of them” (RBF

253). Forgetting and forgiving are the rarest qualities needed for a soul that has long

been a victim of humiliation, insult and betrayal. Pessimistic attitude may block the

positive energy of the affected individual which may be an unconquerable barrier. Coe

advises the readers to be optimistic, practical, sensible, reasonable, logical and

courageous enough to overcome all the hurdles of life.

Attachment and detachment are quite common in human life like the soul and

the body of man. Staying connected with a relation for quite a long period of time

becomes impossible now-a-days as people have different perspectives at different

situations. The depending modern man on the demands and requirements of him is

frequently haunted by a variety of problems of different intensities so that he

voluntarily prefers loneliness. A man who confronts the severity of loneliness which

hurts the core of his heart will definitely project him as a frustrated lonely individual.

Coe has made Maxwell Sim, a lonely and humorous middle-aged man as the principal

spokesperson of the novel The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim. He tries hard through

all the possible ways to liberate him from the tyrannical clutches of loneliness and live

as a carefree individual. Neither the protagonist’s family nor his friends seem to extend

their assistance to rescue him from his pathetic state of loneliness. The serious

complication that arises out of his alienated lifestyle has forced him to enter into the

region of dreadfulness, discomfort and distrust. The perplexed Max starts envying

people who remain close to each other with sincere love. His mind is agonised to notice

the intimacy that exists in-between the Chinese Woman and her daughter playing cards

at a restaurant in Sydney harbour, Australia. The bond between them intensifies the
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pain of his loneliness. The novelist has excellently portrayed the very nature of a lay

man who has never been exposed to academic atmosphere. Undoubtedly, ignorance and

negative attitude are the two worst factors of life that obstruct the growth of one’s life.

The narrator has registered, “But it was only the Chinese woman and her daughter that

I really envied. It was clear that they had something precious: something that I wanted

badly. Something that I wanted to share in” (TPM 7). Coe reminds the readers of the

search undertaken by the unloved and the forsaken to experience the positive aspects of

life. Max is one such character who has begun a search for a genuine person who may

shower his unconditional love till death.

The feeling of intense loneliness after a breakup or loss of a loved one is

undoubtedly very hard to manage for most of the people. It may make a drastic change

in the outlook of the affected individual both at the individuals and the society around

him. It automatically creates inferiority complex, suspicion and pessimistic attitude in

him. The feeling may also tempt an individual to enter into another relationship to

alleviate the pain of loneliness. On the contrary, some may make a firm decision not to

enter into another relationship because it may be worse than the previous one.

However, the man who deserts both his wife and children will definitely be deserted by

others and in the event of which he becomes a forlorn individual. Family disintegration

in the Western world rapidly increases due to increased interest in media, consumerist

and pop culture. This is regrettable and unethical. The consequences of family

disintegration may result in immorality, brutality, rampant killing, insincerity, hatred,

envy and anxiety.

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The strength of familial as well as human relationship today is obviously weak,

hypocritical and unhealthy. Coe in The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim exposes to the

core the harsh realities faced by husband-wife in contemporary England. The author is

reluctant to convey to the readers whether the separation between life-partners is caused

by the immaturity and inexperienced attitude of the husband or the wife. The agonised

Max laments:

Caroline had left home by then. Walked out, I mean. She had been gone

six months and she had taken our daughter, Lucy with her. They had

moved up north, to Kendal in the Lake District. What was it, finally that

drove her away? Just a long-standing build-up frustration. I suppose.

(TPM 12-13)

Immaturity, misunderstanding and hatred are some the main causes for the

separation of the life-partners. Max’s wife Caroline is not an exception to this sort of

experiences. She has to disconnect her marriage bond due to misunderstanding and

disagreement. Though Max is also responsible for the wreck, he too feels miserable and

lonely. As he is too perplexed, he is unable to decide between right and wrong. This is a

weakness of an individual who has failed to understand his own self, family members

and the society.

Loneliness throws multifarious effects on an individual and one such adverse

effect is transforming the loquacious into a reserved and silent individual. The chaotic

state forces the victim to evade from the society. Coe has delineated one such effort of

confining oneself within his room and limiting himself from the outside world by
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avoiding contact with neighbours and friends. Max is one such character who

multiplies his miseries by maintaining or creating a wide gap from others. He admits,

“For six months now I had barely spoken to anybody…spent most of it alone at home,

mainly in bed, occasionally in front of the television or the computer. As for human

contact, I’d lost all appetite for it.” (TPM 19). The novelist has presented Max as an

uncommunicative person and therefore, he implants the sense of hostility in him as well

as with others. Undoubtedly, loneliness projects him as a social failure. Coe in his

novels has brought in the combined emotion of both pessimism and optimism in an

individual which is almost inevitable in everybody’s life. Max utters:

…the Chinese woman and her daughter had reminded me. It may sound

like a strange thing to say, but their closeness, their intimacy had been

the first thing I’d seen in six months which had given me hope. Had

made me feel, even, that my luck might be about the turn. (TPM 19-20)

Optimism is a powerful tool that enables an individual to achieve great goals.

Positive attitude in life is a medicine through which one can drive away loneliness.

Max acknowledges, “…seeing the Chinese woman and her daughter had unexpectedly

reawakened my need for human contact. I wanted to talk. I was desperate to talk” (TPM

21). The protagonist decides to turn down his previous decision of leading a secluded

life and so he wishes to be interactive, amiable and amicable with everyone he

interacts. He begins his expedition by communicating with his fellow passenger,

Charlie Hayward who has travelled with him from Sydney to London. He says, “Poor

old Charlie Hayward. He was the first person I’d really managed to speak to, after

taking my decision to reconnect with the world” (TPM 28). Deciding to get reconnected

with his close associates is a welcoming attitude as it is a progressive decision. This

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may make the life condition of an individual better. This is undeniably a pragmatic

decision made by Max to mend all his previous failures.

Unfortunately, grief is a common factor that one cannot easily overcome as it

requires enormous mental capacity. Death of a mother is undoubtedly an unendurable,

irrecoverable and irreplaceable loss and eventually, her young children would become

destitute. Coe has portrayed loneliness as one of the consequences of death in The

Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim. Max mourns, “Mum’s dead. She died young – more

than twenty years ago. Dad’s a lost cause. We’ve never been able to talk much. I don’t

have any brothers or sisters” (TPM 42). His reclusive father takes no measures to drive

away Max’s pain of loneliness as his father is obviously known for his callousness. The

life of such young boy is really sympathetic and miserable. This is in no way a self

generated one.

Coe accuses the modern society for causing loneliness and thus, increasing the

number of frustrated people who show no concern for social issues and sufferings of

the fellow-beings in the English society. People do not show even least interest in

alleviating the pain of the hurt soul or proffering moral support to the needy. Max

regrets:

Someone must have passed by my bench every thirty seconds or so, but

nobody said hello, or nodded, or made eye contact. In fact, every time I

tried to make eye-contact, or looked as though I might be about to speak

to them, they would look away, hurriedly and pointedly, and quicken

their step. (TPM 73)

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Life on earth is to live peacefully and enjoy the short span of life without

confronting any serious rift and other problems that affect the harmony of life.

Unquestionably, loneliness is an integral part of human life but one should be aware of

not letting it overpower his senses. Loneliness does not target anyone but at the same

time it depletes and deteriorates the mental capacity of the victim for he cannot

distinguish the right from the wrong and the good from the bad. In reality, loneliness

makes a person fragile and damages his personality to the extent that he may not even

have a single loyal heart to rely on and seek consolation to minimise distress and

shame. People have to understand that reconstructing relationship is a very tough task.

Max is in such a state that he finds it hard to re-build his relationship with his wife

Caroline, his daughter Lucy and his friends Stuart and Treverpaige. He confesses:

… Lucy used to write to me quite often-every couple of week or so … I

skimmed through the envelops, and could quickly see that there was

nothing from her. Three credit card bills. Letters from gas and electricity

supplier touting for business. Bank statements, mobile phone bills. The

usual crap. Nothing of interest there at all. (TPM 77)

Fate, chance and co-incidence too seem to shatter Max’s hope. He is very much

disappointed to know that he has not received any communication from his friends and

relatives, especially from Lucy, his only daughter. His desire to get reunited with his

wife and daughter does not initially get materialised for he fails to understand the

emotions, expectations and dreams of his wife and daughter. He has absolutely become

an indifferent individual and hence, he chooses the life of isolation and desolation. He
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is not valiant enough to confront challenges of life to renovate his familial life and

enjoy conjugal felicity. His cowardly, dreadful and hesitant approach is the main cause

of his loneliness. Coe, here, is of the view that most of the men who encounter

loneliness for a long period are responsible for their own sufferings and ill-prospects

from which they cannot retrieve their selves. They need to be sensible and alert to avoid

facing unwanted problems, particularly loneliness, as it may result in low-esteem and

depression.

Coe highlights that it is the human inclination to search for a lovable and

compassionate person who can understand and confer love, care and affection to ease

the affliction of the hurt soul. Leading a life of isolation is a curse and the thought of

loneliness is gruesome, horrendous and unbearable. These are the negative elements

that haunt the mind of Max when he learns that no one is with him at the time of crisis

while he is in Sydney. The feeling of loneliness further intensifies and destabilises the

entire system of his life. The narrator illustrates, “My stomach felt suddenly hollow.

My eyes started to sting: I could feel tears coming. This was worse than I could

possibly have imagined” (TPM 79). Hopelessness is undoubtedly one of the major

consequences of loneliness. Loneliness for Max has become more traumatic as his

friends have completely ceased to communicate with him. Coe considers that people

today are self-centred and egoistic and their focus is only on their survival, success and

prosperity. Instead, they should come forward to maintain magnanimity, maturity and

compassion to build up a good rapport with others and thereby creating an atmosphere

of harmony in the society. Overwhelming desire to cling to a communicating and

loving person is the basic requirement of any desolated person to drive away the
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miseries of loneliness. It is an attachment that is automatically generated, as the agony

of loneliness will torment a person to seek for a permanent remedy. This attachment is

an outcome of depression. Lindsay Ashworth, the Public Relation Officer in Alan

Guest Toothbrush Company, attracts Max for he is highly outspoken and outright in his

approach. Her gesture of sending discreet kiss with her left hand makes him sensuous.

He is excited to notice a woman to do so while he has been deserted by people as they

consider him as a dull and an uninteresting person. His joy is boundless to find a

friendly character that he has been in search of for a long time. He admits:

When I saw her gesture, my heart lifted, and I experienced a new

curious sensation: a glow of happiness spreading through my body,

starting at my feet and rising all the way up until even my scalp was

tingling. And then, as soon as she was out of sight, I felt suddenly,

terribly alone. (TPM 139)

Happiness which is short-lived is an enigma that tantalises the individual in all

the ways possible. The babble of happiness may be always alluring and attractive. One

may assume that he can have a complete possession of it but to his dismay, when he

tries to catch it, it explodes into numerous pieces in no seconds. Lindsay’s

disappearance from Max’s sight sows the seed of loneliness and within a fraction of

seconds it tries to overpower all his senses.

Scientific inventions in the field of communication and pastime are definitely

useful tools that liberate an alienated person from the state of loneliness. In the modern

world, mobile phones, social networks and television, in addition to all other mass
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media expose the fact that they facilitate the human to get rid of the sufferings of

loneliness. Coe has dispensed Max as an exact representative of modern man who

strives hard to liberate him from the wretched condition of reclusive life. Whenever he

reminiscences his past with his wife and daughter, he very much becomes nostalgic and

yearns a lot to get reunited with them. But his self-conceited attitude and haughtiness

prevents him from getting united with his family members. Television, of course proves

to be an amazing companion to him at night. He admits, “I made myself another cup of

Nescafe, turned on the TV for company, muted the volume, then lay down on the bed

and started to read” (TPM 168). Thus, Coe makes it clear that loneliness leads to low

self-esteem and that ultimately spoils the unique nature of human life to live sociably,

as it creates negative and worthless thoughts and feelings quite indifferent to a normal

mind. He advises people to stay connected with their family to enjoy life and avoid

complications. Familial harmony has the power to make a person feel more

comfortable in the society.

Coe alludes that loneliness can be acquired and inherited genetically from

parents. Admiration for the father or the mother who volunteers loneliness may seed a

terrific impact to their child or children who may consider it to be a necessity in life.

Henry Fielding in Joseph Andrews states, “… emulation most effectually operates upon

us …” (19). Such character will be identified as ignoble and unsociable, for he may get

excluded and rejected by family, friends and society. Max has got influenced by such

reclusive nature of his father, a lonely figure. His teenage friend, Alison who has not

expressed her love to Max, has had the habit of recording her life experiences in

diaries. Max gets an opportunity later at forties to read all the recorded events. Alison’s
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script illustrates, “In fact Mr. Sim did not appear to be close to either his son or his

wife. He was a quiet man, very introspective and rather difficult to talk to” (TPM 171).

Coe through the novel The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim advocates that the parents

need to be amiable and sociable with their children in order to learn the actual

expectation, ambition and dreams instead of forcing them to prefer the choice of the

adults. Sometimes, the frustrated children prefer the choice of committing suicide.

Alison’s script further adds:

His father had abandoned him, years ago - perhaps never even

made a connection with him in the first place. And that left him

clinging to this placid, benign mother who also had nothing to

teach him, nothing to pass on. He was alone in the world, and

already he was struggling. (TPM 179)

Coe, as a universal writer, possesses a unique talent of approaching and

analysing the harsh realities of life. He uncovers the truth that modern man is caught

hold in the world of haste, waste and divided self. He assumes that the entire world

turns hostile against him. As a pessimist, he looks only at the darker side of life. Max is

a person who looks only at negative aspect. He regrets, “..I was cocooned from the rest

of the world” (TPM 185). Coe’s literary mastery is perceptible in his elucidation of a

normal human mind. The prejudices generated may poison the mind of the alienated

individual and the same may land him in trouble.

Coe in The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim has made an excellent contrast of

the fatherly attitude of Mr. Harold Sim, father of Max, with the protagonist Max.

Mr.Sim is a self-centred person. Death of a spouse makes the partner experience the
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gloomy atmosphere of loneliness and depression. Mr. Sim volunteers to taste the

bitterness of loneliness, considering it as a gateway to pursue a problem-free life. Max

on the other hand, does not wish to get detached completely from his wife and

daughter, but unfortunately, he somehow gets trapped into the hold of loneliness. This

makes him cold-hearted and exasperated. His unexpected separation from his only

daughter Lucy has become unendurable and agonising. He laments, “And yet, as soon

as she was born, life without her became unimaginable” (TPM 203). Coe has finely

distinguished between the loneliness experienced by a married father and his son and

the way in which they deal with the problems that they come across in life.

Apology is an essential act required to avoid conflict and solitude. Coe suggests

that apologising for the mistake committed or harm done to others has the power to

comfort and soothe the hurt soul of the fragmented individual. The one who does not

apologise for the sin he has committed cannot be forced or punished by law. It should

spring from one’s heart out of willingness. It is also an act of acknowledging one’s

foolish mistake that has been committed without realising the impact or worst

consequences of life. Most importantly apology has the ability to subside the level of

anger. Lucy, the daughter of Max gets intrigued by the series of questions shot at her by

her father about a text message received in her mobile from one of her male friends.

She gets frustrated and dejected by the company of Max. He immediately seeks

apology by saying, “OK, I’m sorry, love” (TPM 211). In return to her father’s apology,

she becomes conscious of her worthless anger and replies, “That’s all right. I’m sorry

too” (TPM 211). Coe staunchly stresses the fact that apologising helps one to remain

emotionally connected to one’s family, friends and loved ones.

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Loneliness cannot be defined as it is inexplicable. It is a result of extreme

insecurity, anxiety and depression. It certainly generates a sense of fear in the minds of

the aged. The novelist discusses the consequences of the reclusive and the deserted life

of the middle-aged too that is certain to pass on to the old age that may cause incurable

depression and agony. In The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim, Max is a middle-aged

man of forty-eight. All his endeavours to escape the pangs of loneliness unfortunately

end in vain. He regrets over his present condition of living alone and at the same time,

he is frightened of its serious threat in his old age. He bemoans:

I never expected to be single at the age of forty-eight. But now that it

had happened, and now that it was obvious that Caroline had no

intention of coming back to me, I realized that I was faced with a very

specific problem. Sooner or later, if I didn’t want to end up a lonely

man, I was going to have to find myself another partner. The trouble

was, younger women (such as Poppy) were apparently not going to look

at me, and I didn’t find older women attractive. (TPM 226)

Max is excessively pessimistic, perplexed, anxious and hasty as the sufferings

that he has undergone are too unbearable. He broods over the loss all by himself as he

has none to talk with or confide his personal issues. His secluded lifestyle generates

negative feeling which in turn induces the feeling of stress, chaos, betrayal, pressure,

shame and guilt. He is reckless and hence, he wants to find an attractive partner at any

cost without deeply understanding others. The young girl, Poppy whom Max has met at

an air travel is affectionate towards him and she finds pleasure in enjoying fatherly love

with him. The anxiety in him to escape the acute pain of loneliness injects in him the
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unabated desire to find a suitable life-partner like Poppy. Hence, he is so blind to

realise the platonic love of Poppy for him. Max’s unfair judgment of Poppy’s concern

for him wounds both of them. A man of confused and depressed mind at the time of

crisis cannot take right decision.

Though pessimistic, Max is a unique personality. Coe has been very cautious in

portraying the character of Max in such a way that the readers do not show any

contempt for him or any other character in The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim. The

novelist has exposed both the positive and the negative side of his characters believing

them to be actual individuals. It is not only Max who has experienced detachment in the

novel but Alison’s love for Max also goes unrecognised. In addition, young Lucy who

is under the care of her mother is not in association with her loving father. Fate and

coincidence play a vital role in misplacing family members and friends in the novel.

Max aspires that the wretched social condition experienced by him should not be

encountered by others. He is gleeful to find Alison married to a business tycoon Philip.

Though he has got an opportunity to share his bed with Alison, he shudders at the

thought of executing his vile assignation with her. Max unfolds:

Of course – Alison was married. Married with children. If I wasn’t

careful, I was about to play the most contemptible role of all: the role of

home breaker… I withdrew my arm from Alison’s shoulder, and sat up

straight. She looked across at me curiously, then sat up as well, tidying

her hair and re-establishing those decent inches of space between us.

(TPM 238)

Max’s fear about Alison’s broken home because of his clandestine relationship

with her is commendable to some extent though not completely. He is not self- centred
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even in solving his personal problems. Though he decides against it as he does not want

to break his bond with Alison’s family and he also does not wish to create commotion

in her family. Coe portrays Max as a man of self-loathing who not only understands the

pain of separation but also cautions people not to transfer the pain of loneliness to

others. The novelist tries to impart to the world that people should empathise and

sympathise with others in order to create conducive and harmonious atmosphere.

Coe exhibits his hatred for the materialistic attitude of contemporary English

people as their greediness is the fundamental cause of all social evils and all

complications encountered by the people in the society. Covetousness,

misappropriation of money and squandering the wealth of others deteriorate the social

atmosphere of the whole-world. Craving for money transforms the people into

bootleggers and anti-social elements as they do not have any regard for the welfare of

the society and the nation. Unquenchable thirst for money leads to isolation. However,

Max is not desirous of piling wealth. He detests people like Crispin Lambert, the

employer under whom he has been assigned to work. Lambert strives hard to amass

wealth unmindful of the worst consequences. Max construes:

For me, money is a means to an end. I’d use it to travel. To see the world

in style. I’d like to be able to afford good seats at the opera. I’d like to be

able to own a Picasso or two. But for Crispin and his ilk, money is the

end. Their aspirations stop there. Well, I’m sorry, But to me that’s just a

tedious view of the world. Shallow. Superficial. (TPM 252-253).

Coe advises the readers to understand the vital role of humanity in the society.

He expects England to thrive not only financially but also socially and culturally. He is
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against the broken families and the miserable experiences involved in it. He warns his

countrymen and the world to be aware of the danger of the modern and the indifferent

attitude of the people. If this situation persists people may forget the meaning of love

and compassion that are very essential for the survival of the mankind. Though Coe

appears to be an atheist in his thoughts, attitude and approach, he has recorded the

importance of protecting the value of culture and tradition of every country that may

save mankind from degradation and downfall. He strongly believes that hatred as well

as contempt for other fellow-beings is the result of modern man’s loneliness and other

related problems. He makes a plea to the modern world to come out of the unhealthy

attitude to create a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere in the world where everyone

leads a life of joy, peace and prosperity by driving away the dominance of loneliness,

hatred, stress and other nameless and faceless problems faced by the modern men.

Loneliness like the most venomous kraits stealthily crawls and creeps into the

life of the innocent and dejected individuals and gradually it occupies and swallows the

whole self of him without leaving any trace of his existence. Almost, all the characters

of Coe whoever enjoyed the warmth and pleasures of love have fallen a prey to the

merciless world of loneliness. The pitiable victims of loneliness seek solace and

comfort to their hurt mind and soul from social evils like alcoholism, abnormal sexual

relationship, modern gadgets and finally, when they find no other apt choice, they

embrace loneliness and undergo the traumatic experiences of it.

Quite contrary, the miserable lifestyle of an alienated individual in any society

may be an apt example and lesson to be learnt to lead a meaningful life. Sometimes, it

acts as a creative and motivating factor to the man of secluded life and as a result, he

comes out with wonderful and innovative ideas that could transform the world of

frustration within no time.

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Robin in A Touch of Love is the only spongy who has become an easy prey to

the powerful clutches of loneliness. As he is so weak and meek both in mind and body,

he finds it very difficult to withstand the multiple faces of isolation. All other major

characters like Maria of The Accidental Woman, Emma and Aparna of A Touch of

Love, Tabitha and Mortimer of What a Carve Up! and Max of The Terrible Privacy of

Maxwell Sim extricate them from its dominance and pull on their survival with a strong

hope about their prosperous future. Coe, who is both objective and subjective in his

writing, tries to expose to the chaotic individuals of the modern world about the harsh

realities of life, love and loneliness to make them learn a meaningful lesson of life.