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The Importance of Family Relationships in "The Young Couple" and "Two Kinds"

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In 'The Young Couple', Jhabvala illustrates the difficulties Cathy experiences in family relationships upon moving to India after her marriage to Naraian, whereas in 'Two Kinds', Amy Tan describes the difficulties Jing-mei, the heroine, faces in her relationship with her mother. Part of these difficulties are caused by the 'clash of cultures' that the heroines in both stories experience. Cathy feels that she does not fit in to Indian culture and Jing-mei has to live with a mother who, at crucial times, shows that she lives her life according to Chinese principles, whereas Jing-mei prefers the independent, American lifestyle.

From the beginning of 'The Young Couple', Jhabvala makes clear how …show more content…

Naraian's family seems to control the couple's lives as everything that she does is the subject of "scrupulous family concern" and because Naraian is annoyed with Indian families, who will "not allow a man to take his own decisions but regard it as their right to take them for him". This interference of the family is important as a dramatic tool, to the progress of 'The Young Couple', as it is this interference that begins to create problems for Naraian and Cathy, as they came to India with a "life of purpose" and a "challenge" awaiting them, and after the family start to interfere in the couple's affairs, they seem to be prevented from doing anything worthwhile.

Their problems seem to revolve around the idea that Cathy cannot live this 'family-orientated' lifestyle. She is unable to get a job for herself, and we know this affects her, as she begins to show signs of boredom; "twisting and untwisting the end of her golden plait" and she considers her current situation "depressing". She cannot get a job because the sort of jobs she would be permitted to do in India depends on her "background and social standing", and she is not qualified for these jobs. This shows how the social standing of the family even influences decisions, such as finding a job, which would be an individual decision in

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