With Roy deriving the reference of India as the Heart of Darkness from Joseph Conrads novel titled as such, it is apparent that the God of Small Things mirrors Conrads criticism on the detrimental and lasting impacts of colonialism. Sophie Mol, a clear metaphor of British powers, arrives at Ayemenem with the obsession of taming the east, which is portrayed as inferior and backward. Her drowning and subsequent death are thus symbolic of the British Empires eventual failure to exert complete control over India when it regains independence in 947. However, Indias independence clearly comes at a price. Upon Sophies death, the Ipe household, a metaphor for India, is left traumatized. The degree of their trauma is displayed through Roys kaleidoscopic narrative that disrupts linear time with foreshadowing and flashbacks. The fragmented timeline mimics the psychological effects of victims of colonization, as alluded by Ammu and the twins, who are haunted by their past. Ammu to her death, refused to acknowledge the passage of time in order to deny the disintegration of her family; whilst the twins are rendered into frozen two-egg fossils who have incestuous sex as a result of not being able to comprehend the depth of their trauma. It is evident that Roy actively condemns colonization through the effects on the coloni
zed. Interestingly, she also explores the resulting effects of colonization on the colonizer. By bringing Sophie to India, Margaret Kochamma was haunted by that decision for as long as she lived., which, given the strong criticism on colonization and imperialism in contemporary society guilt from the British government and general public – seems like a plausible reaction to the atrocities committed by the British Empire. Perhaps Sophies death also directly expresses the literal truth in Rahels seemingly preposterous statement, If she gets dirty, shell die. Rahels dirt represents her Indianness, which the West actively discriminates against. Sophies consequent death after mingling with Rahel hence serves as a hyperbolic form of karmic justice, that Roy employs to express the extent of her resentment. Although it is undeniable that Sophies death is most directly caused by Estha, it is impossible to ignore the colonizeds self-annihilation – Kari Saipus suicide, when the Indian boy he was raping is taken away from him. The rape is no doubt a personification of the colonizers exploitation of Indias natural resources, and upon losing India as a colony, the British Empire was subjected to a massive economic decline. In this way, Roy presents colonization as a double-edged sword – there are no winners or losers.