On Thai Tragedy Asthetics of Behind the Painting

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to explore and analyze the artistic craft of romantic tragedy demonstrated in Siburapha’s novel Behind the Painting, so as to unearth the reason for its widespread popularity. Three of the necessary elements of an ideal tragedy as stated in Aristotle’s theory of tragedy - a protagonist that is good natured, relatable to the audience, who experiences downfall due to his or her own flaw - are all present in Behind the Painting. The novel also embodies Buddhist ideas based on karma. The royal descent, moral integrity and self-motivated character possessed by the female lead Kirati qualifies her for the role of protagonist in an ideal tragedy. Her suffering was not a result of disagreeable conduct. Instead, it was desire and self-grasping in human nature that brought the misery of love upon her. The novel is divided into two parts. The first ends with the male and female leads bidding farewell to each other at the Japanese dock. This part of the novel is not rich with tragic features. Nevertheless, it establishes a clear, good-natured image for Kirati, which lays the foundation for the romantic tragedy depicted in the second part of the novel. The second part, later added on by Siburapha, ends with Kirati dying of illness and represents her persistence in love as well as her immense desire and self-grasping mindset. Kirati’s ignorance of the essence of life and human nature elicits empathy and invokes compassion universally among its readers, hence the novel’s long-lasting popularity.