ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses The Hindu monk in Seymour Freedgood's story Grandma and the Hindu Monk. The monk seems to have a profound understanding of how to deal with hysteria and focusses on the his 'therapeutic' stance. The monk in Freedgood's story intuitively understands Grandma's conflict between her need for emotional expression and the strict religious doctrines by which she lives. The traumatic event brings this conflict to the point of a crisis. The monk forces Grandma to confront her wishes by, in effect, making them irresistible. She hears the joy and the piety in his music. The monk in this story really believes that dance is a form of prayer, no less sacred than any other. Similarly, one has to believe that it is possible to have a secure relationship without giving up their autonomy. In Edith Wharton's story "The Other Two", she spells out one woman's bargain with great subtlety and psychological acumen.
