Symbolism and the Politics of Survival in Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance

This paper examines the intricate role of symbolism in Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance, situating the novel within the broader context of postcolonial Indian literature. Mistry employs recurring symbols—threads, the sewing machine, trains, chess, hair, and bodily scars—to illuminate the precarious balance between survival and despair during India’s Emergency period (1975–77). These symbols are not mere aesthetic devices but function as cultural signifiers that articulate the violence of caste, class oppression, and state authoritarianism while also gesturing toward resilience and dignity. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from Barthes’s semiotics, Frye’s archetypal criticism, Jungian psychology, and postcolonial thinkers such as Said, Bhabha, and Spivak, this study interprets Mistry’s symbolism as a narrative strategy that bridges personal trauma with historical reality. The analysis reveals how Mistry transforms objects and motifs into vehicles of social critique, demonstrating literature’s capacity to embody resistance and humanism. Ultimately, the novel’s symbolic architecture underscores its central concern: the fragile equilibrium between suffering and endurance in the face of systemic injustice.