Analysis of Kate Nivison's 'Just Below the Surface'

"Just Below the Surface" is a 1993 short story written by Kate Nivison. The main character, "Indrani," is an Indian woman who is born and raised in Britain, as she explains, "I have never been out East" (p. 132, l. 18). She lives in Wanstead, a wealthy suburb in East London, with her husband "Kumar" and their two children "Hanif" and "Laila". She wears a traditional Indian "rose-pink sari" (p. 129, l. 37). "Indrani" is an anxious person, or as she says, "somewhat of a nervous disposition when it comes to noises at night..." (p. 128, l.2). Her husband points out that she worries too much and makes her feel crazy for thinking this way. When she discovers mice in the kitchen, she does not want to tell her husband because she is ashamed. She is nervous about his reaction because her only job now is to be a good housewife. This shows that there is a huge gap between gender roles and their dynamics seem paradoxical from a western perspective.The theme of the story is prejudice and discrimination. Britain is multicultural and this story sheds light on the problems that can occur in a diverse society. We get a glimpse from the perspective of a person of color into what it is like to live in a country where skin color is often a disadvantage and therefore called "Just Below the Surface". In the story, Indrani says that "...people put horrible things in mailboxes." (P. 128, l. 3,4). She experiences racism firsthand and even though they move into an upper class neighborhood, she knows that racist acts are everywhere. Later in the story, Indrani finds her store littered with hate messages. When Indrani and Kumar report this to the police, they do nothing. This is an example of how the police do not protect and serve all ethnic groups. When Indrani talks to the police officer, he keeps saying "love" to her when describing how she can solve the situation with the mice. This is patronizing as he treats her in a way that seems friendly or helpful, but he conveys a sense of superiority. He indirectly compares the mice to people of color in Britain. In the short story, the people Indrani encounters are not overtly prejudiced, showing that prejudice and discrimination are not always clearly expressed in many situations. It is only at the very end that Indrani notices the comparison.