Love and Loneliness in Vikram Seth’s
The Golden Gate: A Comparative Study of Emotional Alienation
in Indian English Literature
R. Deepa Lakshmi¹*, A. Mohamed
Sujain Khan²
ABSTRACT
This study explores the intricate themes of love,
loneliness, and emotional alienation in Vikram Seth’s The Golden
Gate (1986), situating the novel within the larger framework of
Indian English fiction that examines the fragility of human
connection in modern urban life. Seth’s verse narrative, set in San
Francisco, portrays characters caught between material success and
emotional emptiness. The paper argues that Seth’s depiction of
alienated modern individuals parallels the emotional landscapes
found in the works of Anita Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Arundhati
Subramaniam, who similarly interrogate the contradictions of
intimacy, isolation, and identity in contemporary life. Through
textual and comparative analysis, this research demonstrates that
Seth’s work transforms the Western sonnet tradition into a mirror of
modern disconnection, offering a profound commentary on love as both
a redemptive and destructive force in the postmodern world.
Keywords: Vikram Seth, The Golden Gate, loneliness, love,
alienation, Indian English literature, emotional isolation,
modernity
