World Literature

“Nirmala was thunderstruck.  A fierce conflict started between the first tears and the words to answer: each was determined to come out first and neither was willing to give way an inch to the other.  Considering the weakness of the voice and the power of the tears, if the battle were to last one moment it would be difficult to decide which would win the field.  At last both burst out together, but as soon as they had emerged, the stronger suppressed the weaker.”

This paragraph feels like a reference to one of the general themes of The Second Wife, in that Nirmala quite clearly does not possess the maturity nor the skills to be an authority figure in a household.  As a child, even though she is married to Munshiji, she clearly doesn’t have the ability to properly express her feelings.  In this instance, Premchand describes her emotional state as an intense battle between an expression of her sadness over Mansaram getting sent away to school, not wanting to hear from her, and becoming sick, all while feeling that the whole situation is her fault, and being able to respond to what Munshiji says with some form of composure.  Nirmala doesn’t actually do either of these things, as she and Munshiji just argue about whose fault it is that Mansaram is sick, and Munshiji just leaves thinking that she is coming up with a diabolical plot.

Interestingly, Premchand also says that Nirmala has a weak voice and strong tears.  I think he is alluding to her age as a theme throughout the book because her voice, or lack thereof, and her emotions are so important to how we as readers feel about Nirmala and the characters in the story treat Nirmala.  I think that we can be sympathetic towards Nirmala because her voice is consistently challenged by other characters, like her sister in law and her husband.  Nirmala often says or thinks that there is no joy to be had in the world, and we can connect with that sadness, but we empathize with her because she is only fifteen, and her childhood, a time where she should feel happier and free, has been taken away from her, and many of us have never quite encountered this level of sadness or depression.