Characterisation of Parminder

The most important characters in the short story “Day Trippers” by Raman Mundair are Parminder and Gurpreet. Their spouses and their children are secondary characters who are relevant for the way the protagonists relate to them. Most of Parminder’s and Gurpreet’s traits mirror each other, but we will analyse the characters separately for greater clarity.

Parminder is one of the main characters in the short story. She is a developing character because she changes as a result of her experiences.

Outer characterisation

Parminder’s outer characterisation informs us that she is Asian, most likely from Punjab, India (because she understands Punjabi). She is married to a white British man named David, has two sons, and lives in the UK. She is also relatively well-off: “Fast-forward several years and here she was in her well-located, detached home, mortgaged to the hilt, with David and their two boys - Oriel and Miles…” (ll. 5-7)

Inner characterisation

The woman’s inner characterisation presents her initially as aversive to Asian culture and Asian men: “For as long as she could remember she had an aversion to Asian men. Years of her overbearing Daddyji and chachas had created a distaste for her Asian brotherhood.” (ll. 1-3)

Everything connected to her culture seems to disgust Parminder. When her mother sends her packages of sweets, she scolds her because they accidentally stain her husband’s clothes: “One parcel leaked sugar syrup onto David’s favourite Paul Smith trousers. (...) Parminder called her mum and scolded her thoughtlessness.” (ll. 37-39)

Parminder is a competitive person who cares about appearances, and about the way she is perceived by others. She used to be frustrated by the competition with her university colleague, Aisling. This is why she is careful to choose the most flattering photos of her sons for the reunion with Aisling:

She made a hair appointment, had a manicure, agonised over what to wear and bought a new dress. She picked out David's clothes. She even vetted the photographs of the boys on her mobile phone so that she would share the best ones. (ll. 23-23)

Furthermore, she enjoys throwing parties and being seen as a good host: “These evenings made Parminder feel sophisticated and she delighted in the Orrefors wine glasses…” (ll. 59-60).

As she recalls festive dinners in her country, we notice that Parminder resents the patriarchal (male-centered) attitudes in her culture: “Even then it wasn’t a dinner party as such, but the feeding of men by a kitchen full of women and children, who would eat only after the men’s appetites had been sated.” (ll. 63-64)

When it comes to Parminder’s relationship with her husband, we find out that she was initially ...