Juxtaposing Morality and Genealogical Senselessness in One Hundred Years of Solitude and Mṛcchakaṭikā: A Comparative Study
Author : Dr. Basavana Gowda OG
Abstract :
This paper explores how morality and genealogical senselessness are configured in One Hundred Years of Solitude by One Hundred Years of Solitude and the ancient Sanskrit drama Mṛcchakaṭikā (“The Little Clay Cart”). Through comparative analysis grounded in postcolonial literary theory and classical Indic dramaturgy, the study argues that both texts articulate moral imperatives through non-linear family histories and destabilized genealogies, challenging conventional narratives of ethical formation and social order. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, cyclical family repetition blurs individual moral agency, while in Mṛcchakaṭikā, social structures and relational networks defy normative lineage hierarchies. Despite cultural and historical distance, both works destabilize genealogical logic to expose social inequity, communal responsibility, and complexity of moral identity. By foregrounding disorderly lineages and ethical ambiguity, the texts invite readers to rethink morality not as hereditary destiny but as negotiated, contingent, and communal.
Keywords :
Morality, genealogy, lineage, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Mṛcchakaṭikā, comparative literature, postcolonial theory, classical Indian drama.
