Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Wuppertal (Fachbereich A: Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Cultural Studies: Indian Literature and Culture since 1947, 7 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The first part of the paper deals with the hierarchies in Indian society, especially problems in the family network, in the cast system and in the gender roles. The second part applies this information to Roy's novel. Ammu's and Chacko's relationships to spouses and lovers, which show many parallels, are compared.