Love Laws: Bay Kochamma's Forbidden Love And Betrayal

In Arundhati Roy's debut novel, 'The God of Small Things', Baby Kochamma is the great-aunt of fraternal twins Estha and Rahel. The story is set in 1960s Kerala, India, where Love Laws dictate who, how, and how much one should be loved. Baby Kochamma, who has carried a lifelong unrequited love for a priest, is resistant to change and enforces these Love Laws on those around her. When Ammu, the twins' mother, breaks the Love Laws by having an affair with Velutha, an Untouchable, Baby Kochamma is terrified of the potential consequences and seeks to protect herself and the family's reputation. She manipulates events to cause misfortune, including slandering Velutha at the police station and pressuring Estha into falsely testifying against him.

Bay Kochamma's role in enforcing the 'Love Laws'

In Arundhati Roy's novel, "The God of Small Things", Baby Kochamma is the enforcer of the "Love Laws", which dictate "who should be loved. And how. And how much".

Baby Kochamma is the grandaunt of fraternal twins, Rahel and Estha, whose mother, Ammu, breaks the "Love Laws" by having an affair with Velutha, an "Untouchable". Baby Kochamma, however, is unwilling to flout convention and carries a lifelong unrequited love for a priest. Her resistance to change and inability to accept the violation of societal norms by those around her lead her to enforce the "Love Laws" on Ammu.

Baby Kochamma's primary source of gratification is reminding others of their places, and she becomes a symbol of how the "Love Laws" work, creating a superficial impression of social order while wreaking emotional havoc on the individuals involved. Her chief concern is that the twins will steal her home, and her unrequited love turns her into a bitter and jealous old woman. When she discovers Ammu and Velutha's affair, she uses it as a tool for revenge, filing a report at the police station slandering Velutha's character. She also implicates Velutha in the twins' and their cousin Sophie Mol's disappearance. In a shameful act, she pressures Estha into testifying against Velutha to save herself.

Baby Kochamma's manipulation of events causes Ammu to be expelled from the family home, leading to her premature death. Her actions also lead to Velutha's brutal beating and death at the hands of the police.

Her manipulation of Estha and Rahel

Baby Kochamma, the vindictive and embittered great-aunt of Estha and Rahel, manipulates the two children to save herself from the consequences of her false accusation of Velutha. She had accused him of abducting the children, killing Sophie Mol, threatening the family, and raping Ammu. However, when questioned, Estha and Rahel reveal that Sophie had drowned and that Velutha was innocent. The police fear the backlash from the local communist group, of which Velutha is a member, if his brutal beating at their hands comes to light.

To save herself, Baby Kochamma manipulates Estha and Rahel into "confessing" that Velutha was responsible for Sophie's death and their abduction. She threatens that if they don't comply, their mother, Ammu, will go to jail and be beaten and suffer. Estha and Rahel, wanting to protect their mother, give in to Baby Kochamma's manipulation. Estha identifies Velutha's beaten body in a jail cell and confirms the false accusation. This manipulation ultimately causes the separation of Estha and Rahel when Estha is returned to his father.

In the present day, Baby Kochamma lives a hollow life in the old family house, which has become ugly and overgrown. She continues to insult Estha and Rahel, even as they reunite after years apart. Her vindictive nature and manipulation drive the plot, leading to Velutha's death and Ammu's despair and eventual death alone in a cheap hotel room.

Her impact on Ammu's life

Baby Kochamma, the great-aunt of fraternal twins Rahel and Estha, has a profound and devastating impact on the life of their mother, Ammu.

Baby Kochamma's own history of heartbreak and her strict adherence to the "Love Laws" of 1960s Kerala, India, set her against Ammu, who dares to break these laws. Baby Kochamma's unrequited love for an Irish Catholic priest turns her into a bitter and jealous woman. She becomes resistant to change and obsessed with maintaining social order and the family's position.

When Ammu has an affair with Velutha, an Untouchable, Baby Kochamma is horrified. She is terrified that Ammu will publicly admit to the relationship, which would bring shame on the family. To protect herself and the family name, Baby Kochamma manipulates events to cause misfortune. She files a report at the police station, slandering Velutha's character, and implicates him in the twins' and Sophie Mol's disappearance. In a final act of betrayal, she pressures Estha into testifying against Velutha, leading to his brutal beating and arrest.

Ammu tries to tell the truth, but Baby Kochamma convinces Ammu's brother, Chacko, that Ammu and the twins are responsible for Sophie's death. As a result, Chacko banishes Ammu from the family home, separating her from Estha forever. Ammu dies alone in a motel at the age of 31.

Baby Kochamma's actions, driven by her adherence to the Love Laws and her own personal bitterness, have tragic consequences for Ammu and her children.

Her treatment of 'Untouchables'

In Arundhati Roy's debut novel, 'The God of Small Things', Baby Kochamma is the grandaunt of fraternal twins Estha and Rahel. She is described as bitter and jealous, carrying a rosary and doing everything in her power to maintain her family's position in society.

Baby Kochamma's treatment of the Untouchables in the novel is one of the ways in which she exercises her power. The Untouchables, or Parvan, are never allowed basic human rights. They are associated with professions such as leather workers, butchers, launderers, and latrine cleaners. They are also often victims of police brutality, as seen through the tragic death of Velutha, an Untouchable who is beaten and arrested by the police due to Baby Kochamma's false accusations.

Baby Kochamma's prejudice and discrimination against the Untouchables are evident in her interactions with Velutha, the family's carpenter and an Untouchable. She uses her discovery of the affair between Velutha and Ammu, Estha, and Rahel's mother, as a tool for revenge. She slanders Velutha's character at the police station and implicates him in the twins' and their cousin Sophie Mol's disappearance. In perhaps her most shameful moment, she manipulates Estha into testifying against Velutha to save herself.

Baby Kochamma's treatment of the Untouchables, particularly her abuse of power and position to falsely accuse and incriminate Velutha, highlights the tragic consequences of casteism in India. Her actions ultimately lead to Velutha's death and the further marginalization of Ammu, Estha, and Rahel within their family and society.

Her resistance to change

Baby Kochamma, the great-aunt of fraternal twins Rahel and Estha, is a central character in Arundhati Roy's novel, 'The God of Small Things'. Her resistance to change is driven by the pain of her own stifled life and her inability to accept the violation of societal norms by those around her.

Baby Kochamma's character is shaped by her own experience of breaking the 'Love Laws' and suffering the consequences. As a young woman, she fell in love with an Irish monk, who did not reciprocate her feelings. In an attempt to make him love her, she joined a convent, but when this plan failed, she enrolled at a university and received a degree in ornamental gardening.

Baby Kochamma's resistance to change is evident in her strict adherence to the 'Love Laws', which dictate who can be loved, how, and how much. These laws are deeply entrenched in Indian culture and are tied to social class and the caste system. When Baby Kochamma discovers that her niece, Ammu, is having an affair with Velutha, an Untouchable, she is outraged. She becomes the primary enforcer of the 'Love Laws', manipulating events to cause misfortune for Ammu and Velutha.

Baby Kochamma's resistance to change is also reflected in her treatment of Rahel and Estha. She considers them "doomed, fatherless waifs" and actively dislikes them. When the twins return to the family home, her chief concern is that they will steal the home from her. Her resistance to change and rigid adherence to societal norms lead her to prioritise her own interests and the family's reputation over the well-being of her niece and the twins.

Overall, Baby Kochamma's resistance to change is a key aspect of her character and drives many of her actions throughout the novel. Her inability to accept deviation from societal norms, such as the 'Love Laws', leads her to enforce these norms rigidly and causes emotional havoc on those around her.

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