'Naipaul's Women Revisited'

Abstract

This article is a reconsideration of V.S. Naipaul’s attitude toward women, following from the author’s 2005 article “Naipaul’s Women.” Various recent statements Naipaul has made about female authors, including Diana Athill and Jane Austen, are examined in the light of his writings, both fact and fiction, about women in general and women writers in particular. Some consideration is also given to his relations with women in his personal life, including his sister and his wife. The final assessment is that Naipaul’s impatient “off the cuff” statements about women in interviews and at public events are not reflected in his nonfiction writings.]