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 →

After reading Rabindranath Tagore’s “Punishment”, I immediately made a connection to Feng Menglong’s “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger”. Both pieces of work show a similar issue of utilizing the protagonist’s wife as a mean of resolution of an obstacle. Not only are the wives willingly to aid their husbands in overcoming of the hardship, but they go further into choosing death with the feeling of betrayal from their husbands.

In “Punishment”, in trying to protect Chidam’s brother, Dukhiram’s incident of killing his wife out of rage, “Chidam asked Chandara to take the blame on herself. She was dumbfounded. He reassured her: “Don’t worry – if you do what I tell you, you’ll be quite safe” (895). On the other hand, in Feng’s piece, the young master named Li Jia listens to a stranger’s advice and asks his wife Du Tenth to go with another man. “He has it in mind to take you in for one thousand taels. With that thousand taels I will have a pretext on which to call on my parents, and you, my dear benefactress, will also have someone to rely on, but I cannot bear to give up the affection I feel for you” (514). Both Chidam and Li Jia chose to capitulate their wives in order to prevail over obstacles.

The wives of each work also show similarities. Although both the wives are being used as a mean to attain a goal, the wives did not complain and did what has been asked. As Du Tenth said to Li Jia, “The man who devised this plan for you is truly a great hero. The fortune of the thousand taels will enable you to restore your position in your family, and I will go to another man so as not to be a burden to you” (514). With the exceptions of them after helping their husbands out of the hardships, they choose to die as they feel betrayed by their husbands.

Lu Xun’s “In The Wine Shop” and Tolstoy’s “Death of Ivan Ilyich” both share a connection of realism. The works focus on the unembellished lives of individuals who have dealt with difficulty. The two individuals that bear a resemblance are Ivan Ilyich and Lu Wei-fu. Although the circumstances of Ivan and Wei-fu are vastly different (Ivan agonizes over his illness whereas Wei-fu reminisces over past experiences), both characters highlight futility. An example is that Wei-fu has once taught Confucian classics to his pupils, but no longer cares for the true purpose of his teachings. When the narrator questions Wei-fu about it, Wei-fu replies with “their father wants them to study these. I’m an outsider, so it’s all the same to me. Who cares about such futile affairs anyway? There’s no need to take them seriously.” Wei-fu furthermore shows the meaningless progression of his life by the comparison of bees and flies – they always fly away but come back to the same spot. Wei-fu revisits the town and tells the story of his deceased brother and his neighbor’s daughter possibly to reflect on the things that have changed, and how he is still tormented by the past. In Tolstoy’s work, Ivan llyich also supports the idea of futility because he has been conforming to society his whole life, but does not realize what he should have done until he succumbs to his illness. A fundamental difference is that although Ivan Ilyich and Wei-fu are both unable to change, the narrator from “In The Wine Shop” keeps trying to move forward: “As I walked alone towards my hotel, the cold wind and snow beat against my face, but I felt refreshed.”

Despite their similar solemn tone, Lu Xun’s and Tolstoy’s works differ in point of view. The first-person point of view of “In The Wine Shop” and the third-person point of view in “Death of Ivan Ilyich” is very significant in getting their messages across. “In The Wine Shop” feels very personal; readers can sympathize with Wei-fu because they feel a connection with the thoughts of the narrator. “Death of Ivan Ilyich” on the other hand is not as sympathetic because readers know from the beginning that the protagonist was going to die. This detaches many readers from understanding the thoughts of the character.

Reading “Punishment” by Rabindranath Tagore I noticed that there were many similarities with “Incidents in the life of a slave girl” by Harriet Jacobs. Both authors select subjects with women who have cravings for freedom, both literal and spiritual, from their conventional roles. Tagore describes women in rural India who face tyranny from the religion and the society, and their search for freedom. In “Incidents in the life of a slave girl” woman slaves are exposed physically and spiritually to assaults, suffering and pain. As Jacobs says “Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women. Superadded to the burden common to all, they have wrongs, and sufferings, and mortifications peculiarly their own.” Jacobs describes suffering and tragedies of slave women and their search for freedom.

Both main characters are “slaves”. Religion and social rules limit the Indian woman in “dharma”. Chandara’s mouth is covered when she see her sister-in-law murdered. She has no rights, and is treated like a slave from her husband. She is an innocent woman facing a trial, justice system, and society that are against her.  Both Linda and Chandara are victims of physical violence. They suffer seriously from being deprived of human rights and protection. They both are not allowed to marry the person they love. Chandra is married with a man she detests, and Linda is forced to sleep with the master she hates. Chandara is “imprisoned” inside her house. Linda is seven year “imprisoned” in the attic of her aunt for seven years, and she is also locked up in an isolated cottage by Dr. Flint, so he can abuse freely with her.

However Chandara fights and frees herself from being limited in her household obligations as an obedient wife and with a false love. “She turned her heart and soul away from him” (896). She makes her own choice to free herself through death, rather than die living like submissive and humiliated woman. After too much suffering Linda is relieved to be free, and everything she went through in her life establish her as a woman of powerful intellect and profound sensitivity.

Throughout this semester, many of the stories we have read have depicted characters facing similar hardships and mistreatment. While reading “Punishment” by Rabindranath Tagore, I noticed the presence of these issues, and was able to link certain parts of the text to “The Chimney Sweeper” and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. The beginning of “Punishment” describes the work life of Dukhiram and Chidam, who are brothers and two of the story’s main characters. Tagore says “They couldn’t come home for lunch; they just had a snack from / the office. At times they were soaked by the rain; they were not paid normal / labourers’ wages; indeed, they were paid mainly insults and sneers” (893). By saying this, Tagore describes the harsh mistreatment and abuses these men face at work. Unable to take lunch breaks, unfair pay, and soaking wet from the rain paints a clear picture of their awful and labor-intensive situation. This directly relates to the issues that the young boys in “The Chimney Sweeper” were subject to. William Blake portrays the mistreatment of Chimney Sweeps, as the narrator points out that he was sold by his family and slept in soot. In the text, Tom Dacre, who was a chimney sweep, dreams of being set free from this life of misery. The narrator evinces the feeling of being trapped by describing Tom’s dream when he says, “Were all of them locked up in coffins of black” (337). The chimney is described as a coffin, which further points out how these boys were working in conditions that caused them to feel isolated and neglected from the world around them. Both Tagore and Blake are able to describe the cruelty and harshness that characters faced from their labor-intensive jobs.

Next, Tagore’s depiction of Chidam’s character is similar to Frederick Douglass’ master in certain ways. Thus, his wife Chandara becomes subject to his mistreatment just as Douglass was to his master’s. When Chidam forces his wife to take blame for the murder of Rhada, he is seen as evil and controlling, which is similar to Frederick Douglass’ master. Tagore says that Chidam has “devilish clutches” (896). His wife began to hate him as “he taught he repeatedly what she should say” (896). Chidam’s controlling personality in this instance is similar to the Douglass’ master. As we learned from his narrative, Frederick Douglass describes that masters did not only have power over what a slave did each day, but also over their minds and how much knowledge they were able to have. He says “A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood” (236). Here Douglass describes the mental mistreatment of slaves, pertaining to the knowledge that was withheld from them because of their controlling masters. Chidam portrays a similar sense of mental abuse as he tries to control his wife’s thoughts and words.

Although I am sure there are many more connections to previous stories that we have read, these are a few instances that stood out to me from “Punishment”. Mistreatment that characters faced in this story is strikingly similar to that in “The Chimney Sweeper” and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”.

Read both Rabindranath Tagore, “Punishment” (volume E or anthology) and Lu Xun, “In the Wineshop” (link to text on blog). Choose one of the two short stories, and find a way to connect that story to another work we’ve read this semester.  You may see a stylistic issue that joins the two texts, a character who faces similar issues, or textual elements that differ from each other in important ways;  the type of connection you identify is entirely up to you!   In a blog post of 300-400 words, explore the connection(s) you see between the two texts. Please be sure to include quotations from both texts in your response.

First of all, the beginning of the film let me more clearly understand the furnishings and decoration of the house. The combination of the film and the description of the text in the book gives me a clear picture of the character’s position and the direction of the story. The first act of the film I saw the home servant of Tesmans, she and Miss Juliane Tesman began to talk about George Tesman and his new wife Hedda Tesman. Maid is very concerned about miss Rina, because she is sick. but Miss Juliane Tesman thought George Tesman needs Berta more than Miss Rina. From the look of Miss Julian Tesmans and Berta, I can know that they are very proud of George Tesmans, and they are surprised that he can marry a wife like Henda, they are proud of this family. When George Tesmans showed up, I can feel that he and his aunt’s relationship is very close, and he likes his aunt. When Tesmans tried to help her took the hat, he looked carefully, and it indicated George Tesmans is care and respect his aunt. Their relationship is really close, and the film screen made it more real. Henda started out trying to avoid meeting Miss Juliana Tesmans, but when she found Henda and talked to her intimately, she had to join their family chat. From the movie, I can understand the character of Henda more clearly. Her attitude is arrogant, the expression is disdain. Later, Henda pulled the curtains, where I can see that she and Miss Juliana have different views. Although Miss Juliana was very embarrassing, she kept silent and say nothing. In the family relationship of George Tesmans and Henda, Henda has the right to speak, and she is aggressive. The book has a very detailed description of the opening, but the picture of the film made that description more clearly and better presented in front of the audience. After the watch of film’s opening, I have a profound understanding of the story.