Character Analysis of Baby Kochamma in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things
Baby Kochamma is the antogonist of the novel the god of small things written by arundhati roy. She always puts down the two twins rahel and estha and looks down on ammu for getting a divorce.We don't know about you, but if we had to pick the character we dislike the most in the novel, it would probably be Baby Kochamma. She's selfish, self-centered, snippy, and just downright mean. Still, a novel without an antagonist would be like chocolate chip cookies without the milk, or karaoke without a Kelly Clarkson song: it just doesn't seem to work as well if that key piece is missing. As much as we want to tell Baby Kochamma to get over herself and take a hike, we actually need her. In a novel that covers such a big stretch of time, Baby Kochamma's history is the longest of any other character. So, who is Baby Kochamma?
First, a little back-story: Baby Kochamma is not a baby, and her last name is not really Kochamma. We never find out exactly why she takes on the name Baby, but it's how everyone knows her. Her real name is Navomi Ipe, and Kochamma is just a title of respect and honor for a woman.
As a young woman, Baby Kochamma fell in love with Father Mulligan, a priest who used to visit her dad, Rev. E. John Ipe, on Thursdays. She figured that if she showed him how charitable she was, he would fall in love with her. Baby Kochamma would forcibly bathe a peasant kid in the public well every Thursday so Father Mulligan would see how sweet and wonderful she was. When this didn't work, she entered a convent to become a nun. Though this seemed like a foolproof plan at the time, it didn't actually work, and Baby Kochamma was miserable. For someone who turns out to be a colossal jerk, we've got to at least respect B.K. for her persistence. She eventually dropped out of the convent. Her father, figuring she was totally unmarriageable at this point, sent her to the United States, where she studied ornamental gardening at the University of Rochester.
Fast forward to
First, a little back-story: Baby Kochamma is not a baby, and her last name is not really Kochamma. We never find out exactly why she takes on the name Baby, but it's how everyone knows her. Her real name is Navomi Ipe, and Kochamma is just a title of respect and honor for a woman.
As a young woman, Baby Kochamma fell in love with Father Mulligan, a priest who used to visit her dad, Rev. E. John Ipe, on Thursdays. She figured that if she showed him how charitable she was, he would fall in love with her. Baby Kochamma would forcibly bathe a peasant kid in the public well every Thursday so Father Mulligan would see how sweet and wonderful she was. When this didn't work, she entered a convent to become a nun. Though this seemed like a foolproof plan at the time, it didn't actually work, and Baby Kochamma was miserable. For someone who turns out to be a colossal jerk, we've got to at least respect B.K. for her persistence. She eventually dropped out of the convent. Her father, figuring she was totally unmarriageable at this point, sent her to the United States, where she studied ornamental gardening at the University of Rochester.
Fast forward to