Originally posted by: Loony_lovegood
Let me put in my thoughts also here Aps! Let me know what you think 😃
Even I was wondering if Aparna was having a similar dilemma like Adi had when he was in denial. Because I also did not miss those emotions passing her face when Imlie was speaking to her. At times I have felt even Radha resonates with Apu's emotions. So I thought to start from Adi to understand how much they are similar.
Adi himself confessed that Imlie reminded him of his tarnished false pride, his helplessness at having gotten married on gunpoint and his guilt at not being able to come clean with Malini. He was weighed down by the frustration at having to lie about her to everyone. So he made a point to vent all his frustrations on her by insulting her. He just wanted an exit, and thats why he insisted her to leave his home. Even when he handed over the money to her in PD, he had this genuine concern for her, and a concience that her education should not be affected because of him and he was ready to take the responsibility. But ensuring she stays far away from him so that he is not reminded of the past.
But today when we try to draw parallels on both Adi and Apu, we should also take into consideration on what basis they were rejecting Imlie. Adi was reminded of his past and he wanted her out of his life. It was not out of contempt/prejudices. He never verbally belittled her because she was an illegitimate child, or her social status. When he got married to her, he never judged her or insulted her on those grounds, he just wanted to keep her at bay so that he will not feel like he is betraying Malini. Adi's denial/love was not conditional like Apu's. Again the similarity is that we see Apu rejecting Imlie on the basis of her broken "pride" on her son marrying a girl "below" her social strata which is the conditioning that you talked about. That false pride did not stem from feeling helpless like Adi. She on contrast to Adi was not weighed down by any guilt on betraying Malini because for her Malini moved on with Kunal. Because of this social conditioning she will have to lie the society about her bahu's status unlike Adi who lied to keep his personal life on his control.
Even though their thought processes were similar, that alone will never make her be like Adi. He will never hide Imlie from the world because her social status did not match his. We could say that Adi and Apu are similar in PROCESSING their emotions, but they are ethically and in their beliefs very different from each other. So the redemption should also be in a totally different line, not like Adi's.