“Punishment” by Rabindranath Tagore takes place in the late 19th century in the Bengal countryside. The text that I chose to compare this short story to is Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler”. Chidam, from “Punishment,” and Hedda Gabler, from “Hedda Gabler” are two characters that I saw similarities between. They are both characters that capture the eyes of others and power figures that influence their spouse. However, while Hedda does not love her husband and only married him because she was getting old and got caught in a “trap,” Chidam genuinely loves his wife, Chandara.
Chandara could also be compared to Hedda where they are both headstrong. While she used to be an obedient, loving wife, after learning that Chidam wanted her to take the blame for the murder of her sister-in-law, she decided that she would not follow Chidam’s instructions. She would still take the blame, while “confessing” to different events and motives. “She seemed absolutely bent on going to the gallows; nothing would stop her. Such fierce, passionate pride!” (897). This quote shows that she was determined to take control of her life and no longer be swayed by her husband who betrayed her by imposing the blame onto her. This part of the short story reminds me of the end of “Hedda Gabler” when she kills herself with her gun. Hedda was ready to end her life just as Chandara was ready for her future. Hedda was able to see life for what it was in her own twisted way when she says, “… there is beauty… Eliert Lovborg has come to terms with himself. He’s had the courage to do what has to be done” (833). They were both able to see life for what it was and gain courage to take action within their own lives, whether it be death or detachment was their own decision.

At first, I was having trouble with this open-ended prompt as I could not think of any direct link between Punishment and any of our other stories. As I was thinking, I kept getting hung up on the idea that in her culture, Chandara should have been by her husbands side, even through this terrible act that he has committed, as he should have been by hers.  I believe that her defiance of her husband’s wishes would have been severely frowned upon by the community. This idea led to my epiphany that Orgon’s family in Moliere’s Tartuffe should have also been subordinate and submitted to Tartuffe’s influence over Orgon’s household, but they didn’t. Based on contextual evidence, I believe that Chandara and Chidam from Punishment are Hindu. The Hindu concept of marriage gives the duty of supporting one another, through thick and thin, to both the husband and wife. Chandara was so taken back by her husband’s request to lie to authority to protect him that she distanced herself from him indefinitely. “In gaol, just before the hanging, a kindly Civil Surgeon asked Chandara, “Do you want to see anyone?” “I’d like to see my mother,” she replied. “Your husband wants to see you,” said the doctor. “Shall I call him?” “To hell with him,” Said Chandara.” This disgust that she shows for her husband is in clear defiance of the Hindu principles of marriage. A similar disloyalty occurs in Tartuffe when his children flat out refuse to allow Tartuffe’s influence over their father’s household affect them. To this effect, Dorine says, “When he came here he wasn’t wearing shoes. But he’s no village saint – it’s all a ruse. There was no vow of poverty – he’s poor! And he was just some beggar at the door Whom we should have tossed. He’s a disaster! To think this street bum now plays the master.” The culture at the time of Tartuffe would have the kids completely subordinate to their father as he is their sole provider, but just like Chandara, they have thoughts of their own.

“Punishment” by Tagore and “Du Tenth sinks the Jewel box in anger” are two stories that have similarities in the lifestyles of some characters and the events that occur in their lives. In “Punishment”, Chidam and Dhuki live very humble lifestyles, where they work in the fields with minimal pay, but rather mockery by their landlords and employers. Their wives are constantly arguing about petty matters, especially since the family is not wealthy. Similarly, Du Tenth does not live a prominent lifestyle, where she is a courtesan in order to earn a living. On the other hand, Li is a scholarly man who eventually spends his money on Du Tenth and when he wants to marry her, he does not have the money to start a new life with her. Both stories encompass the wife sacrificing for her husband in one way or another. Chandara lies to the police about the murder of her sister in law, admitting that she did it, only on the command of her husband, Chidam. “When her husband asked her to admit to the murder, Chandara stared at him, stunned; her black eyes burnt him like fire. Then she shrank back, as if to escape his devilish clutches. She turned her heart and soul away from him. ‘You’ve nothing to fear,’ said Chidam” (896). This shows how hurt and deceived Chandara felt from her husband’s request, even though he constantly told her that he would be able to save her and that she didn’t need to be scared. She realized how selfish her husband was with his request and in turn accepted the punishment as a way to get herself away from him, since she did not want to be with a man like him anymore. Du Tenth is also told by Li to go and live with the poet in the other boat, so that he could go arrange some more money for their new life. She felt so hurt by this request after all they have been through. “You have abandoned me at midjourney and betrayed my earnest heart. Today, before these many eyes, I open this box to reveal its contents, so that you may learn that a thousand taels is no great thing. In my jewel case there is a true jade; I regret that you lack eyes in your head to see it. Born in an ill-fated hour, I fell into the bonds of a shameful life. And just as I made good my escape, I have been cast aside once more. Today every person who has ears and eyes can witness that it is not I who have betrayed you, but rather you who have betrayed me!” Du Tenth believed that Li had betrayed their relationship and her trust in order to just get more money, when she actually had all that they needed all along. She believed that he valued the money more than their relationship. In the end, both women felt like their husbands chose something over them and voluntarily accepted not being with them after that problem.

The story “Punishment” by Rabindranath Tagore made me think of the play that we just read, “Hedda Gabler” by Henrick Ibsen. It could be because it was the most recent in my mind, but the character of Chandara in “Punishment” reminded me so much of Hedda in “Hedda Gabler.” I saw similar qualities in the two of them, as well as their tragic situations. In “Punishment”, Chandara is the wife of Chidam, a “compact and sturdy” woman who was “trim in her movements” with “restless, deep black eyes that missed nothing.” She was more put together than Radha, who was described as more “unkempt, sloppy”. She had a very strong willed personality – during one instance, her husband threatened to break every bone in her body if she went to the ghat by herself, yet she carelessly replied “The bones will mend.” In the story, Chandara’s husband asks her to take the blame for the murder of Radha, his brother’s wife, even though his brother was the one who did it. When Chandara is on trial, her husband tells her to say that it was an accident, that Radha attacked her first and it was self-defense. Instead, Chandara reacts bluntly to all of it, answering “No” to whether she was ill-treated or attacked first. “She seemed absolutely bent on going to the gallows…such fierce, passionate pride!”. Up to the very end she remains defiant, even when the doctor comes in and tells her that her husband wants to see her, she replies “To hell with him.”

Chandara’s strong-willed character reminded me so much of Hedda in “Hedda Gabler.” Like Chandara, Hedda had a more put together appearance, with an “aristocratic and elegant” figure, and eyes that were “steel-grey, cold and clear.” She too was restless in the story, restless of her settled down life with George Tesman. Like Chandara, Hedda was stubborn to the end, her defiance resonating even in how she died. After it was discovered that Eilert was killed by one of Hedda’s pistols, Judge Barack made it seem as though he was doing Hedda a favor by not saying anything. However, it came at a cost. Even Hedda realized, “So I’m in your power now, Judge. You have a hold over me from now on…Totally subject to your demands – and your will. Not free. Not free at all.” In the end, as her husband and Mrs. Elvsted got closer and the judge tried to exercise his control over her – saying “Oh, we’re going to have some good times together, the two of us” – Hedda took one of her pistols and shot herself in the temple, in her greatest act of defiance yet.

Both the women protagonists in “Punishment” and “Hedda Gabler” were strong willed and stubborn, even up to their own death. And while Chandara was executed, she still made the conscious decision (through her answers to the police) to die, as did Hedda when she directly killed herself. Both seemed to struggle with feeling restless on the inside, and trapped under the control of men. They were defiant in their words and actions, but more than that they had a true desire for freedom. Tragically, they found that freedom through death, both using their deaths as one last act of defiance.

Alec Schonfeld

“Punishment” written by Rabindaranath Tagore is an exciting short story enlightening the reader on the hardships of women. After reading this short story the first connection I made was to a short story we read earlier in the year, Feng Menglong’s “Du Tenth Sinks The Jewel Box in Anger”. In both stories we see a central theme taking place revolving around the women dynamic characters and their behavior, oppose to that of the men in these stories which happen to be their husbands. “Punishment” gives us the point of view of a young wife named Chandara living in Bengladesh. Through her view we are described the patriarchal society Bangladesh is, and how Chandara is constantly being influenced and even controlled by her husband. According to “Punishment”, “If I lose my wife I can get another, but if my brother is hanged, how can I replace him?” (895 Tagore). This quote perfectly embodies the society which Chandara lived in and the type of man her husband is. In this story Chidam asked Chandara a seemingly ludicrous question, If she would take the blame of a murder in which she wasn’t even associated with? After a little convincing Chandara agrees to do this for her husband.  Similarly, in “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” we see women portrayed and treated in an unfair manner. Du tenth is a prostitute with  low status in the society, even she is a courtesan with a heavenly beautiful face. But she was straight, brave, intelligent and had an undoubtedly sensation for love. When her husband was asked about her services from another man for a thousand “taels” we see just what her husband thinks of her. If Du Tenth’s husband was willing to entertain an offer for her for monetary value, we as readers understand that she was more property to him than his wife. “In my jewel case there is true jade; I regret that you lack eyes in your head to see it” (Menglong 516). Both these short stories show similarities in the setting and society in which they took place. Women were thought of and treated as second class citizens.

“Punishment” and “Hedda Gabler” written by Rabindranath Tagore and Henrik Ibsen, respectively, are similarly realistic in style. In both texts readers can easily see that death seems to be the prominent theme of literary realism. Whereas Ibsen ends his story with the protagonist Hedda “shooting herself in the temple”, Tagore applies a different approach as he starts off by describing the death of Dukhiram’s wife. The extent to which death is described in “Punishment” is more horrifying than it is in “Hedda Gabler”.
“What? He roared, like a furious tiger and then, without thinking, plunged his knife into her head. Radha collapsed into her sister-in-law’s lap, and in minutes she was dead.” (Tagore 894)
In this scene Tagore describes thoroughly the struggle between Dukhiram and his wife Radha, which paves ways for Radha’s petrifying death. On the other hand, the realistic presence in “Hedda Gabler” is subdued as Hedda died beautifully and peacefully with a shot in the temple. More important, through these characteristics of realism literature, both authors are able to reflect the image of women living in the late 19th century. Hedda and Chandara come from two different societies, one is American capitalism and the other is the Hindu socialism. Chandara symbolizes the conventionality of Hindu society whereas Hedda embodies the liberal Western women. In “Punishment” Chandara repeatedly admitted she killed her sister-in-law in her first and second time facing the police, despite the fact that she was innocent. Had it not been for her husband’s suggestion and Chandara’s endless love for him, she would never have had to die. “To hell with him”, said she before the hanging – this manifested not only Chandara’s love for her husband as a wife but also the magnitude of her unselfishness as a woman. On the other hand, in spite of her wealthy background, Hedda obviously let her pride, selfishness and jealousy take over her happiness. As a result, even though Chandara died in jail and suffered great pains, her death is unquestionably beautiful as her admirable scarification shines through.

Rabindranath Tagore’s Punishment is a story about one of the brothers, Dukhiram, murdering the elder wife, Radha, over a small complication in their conversation. Instead of owning up to his mistakes, Chandara, the younger wife, was asked to take the blame, “He reassured her: ‘Don’t worry—if you do what i tell you, you’ll be quite safe.’ But whatever his words, his throat was dry and his face was pale” (895). Even though Chidam asked Chandara to take the blame, it was evident that she had absolutely no say in this decision even if she did not want to. This kind of treatment reminded me of what Harriet Jacobs said in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, “I had never wished for freedom till then. But though my life in slavery was comparatively devoid of hardships, God pity the woman who is compelled to lead such a life!” Even though Chandara and Radha were not a slaves, the fact that they both had to endure the unfair mistreatments from their husbands with no escape, and no sort of freedom whatsoever was no different than what Harriet Jacobs had to endure during her enslavement.

Another text that is similar to Punishment is Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindications of the Rights of Women because Wollstonecraft says, “He then proceeds to prove that woman ought to be weak and passive, because she has less bodily strength than man; and hence infers, that she was formed to please and to be subject to him; and that it is her duty to render herself agreeable to her master — this being the grand end of her existence”. This ultimately means that the sole purpose of a woman’s life is to please the man because men are superior and she must agree to whatever is demanded of her. This relates to Chandara’s situation because she was told to take the blame for Dukhiram’s mistakes and was told what to say in court even though she is family. To Chidam, a wife is replaceable but a brother is not, which basically supports the idea that men are superior to women.

To me, both of the literature writes about ” death”, one is physical and another one is spiritual.  The death of Ivan Ilyich happens in a step by step way, which Ivan knows  it from the very beginning to the eventually death.  the impact for getting close to death made Ivan Ilyich changed his personality. He used to be a very “perfect” person, however due to the fear of death, he became the type of person he used to hate.  For the main character of In the Wine Shop, Lu Wei-fu, his “death” is in a subtle way.  From “all day long we used to discuss methods of revolutionizing China until we even came to blows” to ” willing to let things slide and to compromise.”  he was suffering from decay of life.  Lu Wei-fu used to be a very radical young man, he used to like to challenge the tradition and  reform  the Chinese society. However, he failed.  Because of his “death” he abandoned his belief and accepted to live the way he used to against.  He experience a transfer from a radical young man to a loser, from one extreme to another extreme. Lu Wei-fu also became the type of person he used to fight for.

Different between the two literature, “Death of Ivan Ilyich” writes about Ivan Ilyich’s reaction’s before the death, and  “In the Wine Shop”  writes about what happen after the “death”  Similar to Lu Wei-fu fight so intensely to prevent his belief from death, Ivan Ilyich also has the same feeling against the reality.  He doesn’t want to accept the final result. Therefore, he doesn’t believe his doctor, complain to the God, spread his anger to his family and friend.  Apparently, no matter who the person is,  a man always fight against death or rotten.  The two authors of both literature are both national treasure-level master.  and they both love to have their opinions demonstrate on their literature.

After reading, “In the Wine Shop,” by Lu Xun, and thinking about what other texts we read it resembles, I instantly thought of the reading we most recently finished, “Hedda Gabler.” Because this reading was also done very recently, it was the first text that came to mind when I saw Xun’s use of realism. Both texts display realistic approaches to scenarios and stay away from romantic views. Furthermore, the similarities the two texts share became even more evident when they both spoke about the casket.

In Hedda Gabler, Tesman asks his maid to sprinkle hay to get rid of the smell caused by the casket. Although this portion of the text seemed insignificant and like it had little to do with the plot, it was actually purposely put in place to show how the author is using realism as opposed to a romantic view. Instead of using words like a beautiful death and talking about how peaceful the person in the casket looks, they instead make note of how much it smells and how it is rotting right here in their living room. This shows a realistic view because it is not glorified, this is the way things are in real life.

Similarly, in the text by Xun, realism is used to describe the casket that is encountered. The realism is seen in his description of the casket when he says it is rotting away, deteriorated, and there was nothing left inside. For example, “When they reached the enclosure I had a look, and indeed the wood of the coffin had rotted almost completely away, leaving only a heap of splinters and small fragments of wood.” It is evident that this is realism because the text here is a direct contrast to romanticism. Instead of Xun describing the coffin to be filled with someone inside looking restful and enjoying his or her afterlife, Xun takes a scientific approach and describes exactly what would happen in real life. Therefore, the texts share similarities that are evident when evaluating the realism they both used.

“Punishment” written by Rabindranath Tagore is a short story described a riveting tale of oppression, alienation and objectification of women. Taking place in a patriarchal Bangladesh, a young woman by the name of Chandara was forced to fabricate the murder of her brother in-law’ wife and victim and falsely admit to the crime of murder committed by her brother in law, Dukhiram. Dukhiram killed his wife out of damage to his sense of pride was, when he asked food from her, only to be met with resistance. “Punishment” shares a few parallels of 19th century modern feminism United States as portrayed by Mary Wonllenstonecraft, an era where women’s rights were fell far behind that of men.

Punishment puts us in the views of a young wife named Chandara in Bengladesh. Chandara describes an eye-witness account to the iron fist rule of men in a patriarchal Benglali society, where she forced to submit to the will of her husband and consequently, being compelled to falsely admit to killing her husband’s victim. In connection of certain men selfish and wishful thinging, Mary Wollenstoncraft uses the quote in the in the chapter 5 by Rousseau, “her duty to render herself agreeable to her master—this being the grand end of her existence….no aphorism ever contained a more paradoxical assertion” (Mary Wallstoncraft.) to convey that within the proverbial totem pole of 17th century Europe, women belonged to an inferior caste than that of men, living a life of servitude.

According to Punishment, “If I lose my wife I can get another, but if my brother is hanged, how can I replace him?” (895, Tagore) In the end of story, Chandara was sentenced in death penalty for taking the guilt for her husband’s brother just because Chidam thinks women is replaceable. In both contexts was depicted how society dehumanize woman’s feeling and alienation when it comes to gender. When Mary Wollstonecraft is using her experience and quote by others to promote and emphasized on the concept feminism should be awake. And in short story of Punishment, is depicted the alienation of woman when Chandara shows her mortification and disappointment towards both her father who arranged her future, and husband who distorted and manipulated the truth who send her to death. She would rather choose to be dead so she can be brought her spiritual to higher level and live with her mother eternally in another world. Continue reading Connection between “Punishment” and “Vindication of Rights of Women”- Maureen Chen →