House of a thousand doors by Meena Alexander narrates the reasons and impacts of colonialism in India and the struggles faced by Indian women. She specifically uses a typical Kerala house that has many doors to symbolize the Indian philosophy Atithidevo Bhava.
Meena Alexander gives a detailed description of the house. She mentions the bronze sills of the window. Bronze symbolizes the traditional cultures followed by the family members.
Poet recounts the reasons for keeping the window three feet higher from the floor. It is to block snakes, toads, and rats. Snakes, toads, and rats symbolize the unwelcomed guests, the colonizers.
Postcolonial themes are prevalent in this poem. In the last stanza, the poet describes an old woman who kneels before every house to pay her debt. The old woman in the poem symbolizes the mother India which was pushed into poverty by the invaders. Poet writes ” her debt is endless.” It indicates the adverse impacts of colonization.
A feminist reading of the poem suggests the old woman as a representation of Indian women. Indian women have to fight against many social establishments to mark their identity. The namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri also points out gender issues. Her struggles are endless.
Poet further depicts the situation of women by these lines ” I watch her kneel in all my lifetime, imploring the household gods who will not let her in.”
Poet assimilates herself with every Indian bride who waits for compassion from her husband. She uses ” household gods” to denote the male dominance accepted in Indian society. The concepts of Shiva and Shakthi stand for gender equality existed in Indian philosophy. She writes gods with no caps to mock the male-oriented society that hails themselves. Society shuts its door against the women from all mainstream activities. She confines that they ” will not let her in.”
