Fire on the Mountain: An Existentialist Study

Existentialism and Sartre are inseparable. Philosophical and literary works of Sartre, replete with existentialism, has been in vogue in the world literature dating back from mid-twentieth century. Existentialism dealing greatly with the isolated anxiety, absurdity, prejudice, diversion, over magnetism for freedom, caught the interest of almost all the writers of the present age. As an experimental novelist, Anita Desai in “Fire on the Mountain” displays a sturdy leaning towards the existentialist understanding of the human dilemma.” Desai‟s characters of Nanda Kaul, Raka and Ila Das are studies of women in the absolute web of seclusion and world-weariness. The novel espouses the worldwide human struggle for existence, particularly in the face of a never finishing spiral of human catastrophes and misfortunes.