A House For Mr. Biswas is a bildungsromans with a difference

A very important theme in the book is the treatment of women. Though the majority of characters are women, the women are mostly treated as caretakers, conspirators, or just faces in the crowd. They hardly have any kind of aspirations. The daughters of the Tulsi household are married to men simply because of their caste. The financial stability of the prospective grooms is not considered, nor is any care given for girls' age or consent. A pecking order of women is created in the household where the women with most affluent husbands are seen as better than others. Hence, the windows are forever worried about their future and are trying to start businesses of their own. There is a constant fear of bringing stress on Mrs. Tulsi, and the women often punish their kids to make others "satisfied"—which is just a way to let out their frustration with their current station.