The Dark Room

infobox Book |
name = The Dark Room
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = R.K.Narayan
cover_artist =
country = India
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Macmillan Publishers (UK)
release_date = 1938
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Dark Room" is a novel written by R.K.Narayan, the well known English-language novelist from India. Like most of his other works, this is a tale set in the fictitious town of Malgudi.

This work of literature was first published in Great Britain in 1938 by Macmillan & Co., Ltd. London. The first Indian edition came out in 1956.

Plot introduction

The central character of this novel is Savitri, a submissive housewife, who is married to Ramani, an employee of the Engladia Insurance Company. They have three children, Kamala, Sumati and Babu. Savitri is a typical housewife of the India of those times, very much dominated and neglected by her husband. There is a dark room in their house where Savitri retires whenever her husbands harshness seems unbearable to her.

Plot summary

The Engladia Insurance Company takes a decision to take in more women probationers into its branches. Given the task of interviewing the applicants, Ramani is smitten by one Mrs. Shanta Bai, an elegant and independent woman recently separated from her husband. Ramani strongly recommends that she be employed.

An intimacy develops between the two that puts a strain on the martial life of Savitri and Ramani. Ramani arranges for Shanta Bai to be accommodated in the spare room of the office, in the process taking several pieces of furniture from his home to furnish the room, including a bench, which was Savitri's favourite piece of furniture. Savitri eventually learns of her husband's relationship with the new woman in his office. She tries to win him back, but he pays no attention to her. All the suppressed frustration inside her bursts out one night when Ramani comes home, surprising everyone, including herself.

She threatens to leave the house, and Ramani, thinking she is bluffing, taunts her and tells her to go ahead. She packs the few belongings she has and leaves the house. She attempts to take the children too, but is stopped by Ramani.

She attempts to drown herself in the Sarayu river, but is rescued by Mari, the locksmith, umbrella-repairer and blacksmith of Sukkur village, who is also a burglar at nights. He and his wife, Ponni, take Savitri to their home. Savitri is now obsessed with leading a self sufficient life, as she has had enough of being dependent on her husband so far. For a short period of time, she succeeds in doing so by taking up a small job as a servant in a small temple. But soon, she yearns to be near her children once more. Sadly, she realises that she must return home, though a part of her is no more.

Release details

*1938, UK, Macmillan Publishers ISBN ?, Pub date ? ? 1938, hardback (first edition)
*1990, UK, Mandarin ISBN ?, Pub date ? ? 1990, paperback
*1994, UK, Minerva ISBN ?, Pub date ? ? 1994, paperback
*1994, U.S., University of Chicago Press ISBN 0-226-56837-7, Pub date 1 September 1994, paperback
*2005, UK, Indian Thought Publications ISBN 81-85986-02-9, Pub date ? ? 2005, paperback reissue