Author: Dr. Biman Mitra
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.70798/Bijmrd/04040017
Abstract: This study critically re-evaluates the literary style and narrative innovations of Pyarichand Mitra, foregrounding his decisive role in shaping the early contours of modern Bengali prose fiction. With particular reference to his seminal novel Alaler Gharer Dulal, the research argues that Pyarichand Mitra’s originality lies not simply in his preference for colloquial language, but in his systematic reorientation of narrative form towards social realism and psychological immediacy.
The paper demonstrates that Pyarichand Mitra consciously displaced the ornate, moralising prose tradition by introducing a conversational narrative voice, episodic structure and situational humour that mirror the lived experiences of the emerging urban middle class. Satire, irony and dialogic spontaneity function as integral narrative strategies through which social hypocrisy, cultural imitation and ethical uncertainty are exposed. Rather than constructing idealised moral types, Pyarichand Mitra presents characters marked by ambivalence, inconsistency and social aspiration, thereby anticipating a modern realist sensibility in Bengali fiction.
Through close stylistic and structural analysis, the study reveals how Pyarichand Mitra’s narrative technique redefines the relationship between literature and society. His fiction transforms storytelling into a medium of social observation rather than moral instruction, allowing everyday life, domestic conflict and urban manners to become legitimate subjects of literary representation.
The research concludes that Pyarichand Mitra’s lasting innovation resides in his synthesis of vernacular expression, satirical realism and narrative flexibility. By grounding literary form in contemporary social experience, he not only broadened the expressive possibilities of Bengali prose but also established a foundational framework for the subsequent evolution of the modern Bengali novel.
Keywords: Narrative Innovation, Social Realism, Psychological Immediacy, Vernacularisation of Prose, Satirical Narrative Strategy, Literature–Society Interface.
Page No: 119-129