Psychoanalytic reading of Juino

       The romantic relationship portrayed in the novel 'Juino' by Binita Baral, has explored human behavior that has important connections for psychoanalytic criticism. You'll only see a romantic love scene in the novel if you read with your normal eyes. But if you put on a psychoanalytic lens and read the novel, you'll find the novel lying not in its apparent uniqueness but in the ways in which it mirrors all of the less appealing romantic relationship depicted and reveals a pattern of psychological behavior. This pattern lies in the growing fear of intimacy in Ashok after he loses his brother.

Cover of the novel Juino

       Many readers may find it difficult to understand that why Ashok had to abandon Katha after his brother's death. Well it's not his fault. If you view the novel through a psychoanalytic lens, you'll find all the answer of your questionsns. Let's begin by examining Ashok's love-at-first-sight.

       Every human being is constantly driven by his/her unconscious mind. Ashok's love, at first sight, is also is the result of his unconscious. What do you think a person's first 'love object' is? When we speak about love in psychoanalysis we often speak about “love object” and “object choice.” The first love object that both sexes have in common is their primary caregiver, usually the mother. The relationship that we have with this first “love object” lays the foundation of our capacity for love and affection later in life. If a Girl's personality matches the personality of his mother than he has greater chances of falling in love with her. You'll notice some similarities between his mother and Katha in some ways that he mentions their characteristics as the story develops.

       They both fell in each other's love, and later they reached the extreme point of love. Once you're too close to someone you may loose interest in him/her. The main reason behind Ashok's abandonment is his brother's death. HOW ? Death is the ultimate abandonment. When Ashok lose his brother, his thought was like "What did I do wrong?" Whether we realize it or not, the death of a loved one pushes our guilt buttons and the feeling of guilt overwhelms us : somehow I must have been inadequate; I must have done something wrong or I wouldn't be punished in this way. He felt guilty that he ignored his brother's phone call while making love with Katha. In fact, fear of such a loss, of such intense psychological pain, probably the biggest reason why he afraid to get too close to Katha or is afraid to love too deeply. He must have thought that if he can hold something back, not give his whole self over to the loved one, then he would be better able to bear the loss when the beloved dies. Fear of death is often responsible for fear of intimacy.

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