The Question of Existential Predicament: Theme of Death in the Novel the Gospel of Yudas

Abstract

„Existentialism‟ as a contemporary doctrine, theorized by the French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre in his work Being and Nothingness(1956) found its influence inliterature from the late twentieth century. Sartre‟s ideas on Existentialism entered into the realm of literature as a result of the extensive critical engagements on the relation between literature and philosophy. The term Existentialism has assumed a wide range of connotation including several psychological notions about the complex nature of human beings in his social existence. While portraying the characters from an existential perspective, aspects such as their sensitivity to their social environment, their engagements with crucial issues pertaining to their very existence as a social being, the impact of these on their mind and action are all taken into consideration by the authors, or they get inscribed in the narration of situations. They could be seen as passionately involved in a pursuit for identity, instinctively or otherwise, and they seem to remain constant irrespective of the consequences, in other words, as caught in a problematic situation. In the novels of K.R Meera these existential predicaments are evident within the plot and the characters. The main protagonists of the novels of Meera would be constant in their character traits while proving the existence irrespective of the consequences that they would be facing in their lives. This paper focuses on the novel The Gospels of Yudas by K.R Meera and analyses the existential predicament in the novel.