–How does justice work in the world of “Punishment”? What happens when one tells the truth? What happens when one lies?
–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
–Explain the significance of the details Tagore offers about the marriage between Chandara and Chidam. How do they help us understand the events of the story?
–How do you understand the title of the story?
–As she approaches death, Chandara both says, “to hell with him,” and maintains that she loves her husband. How do you reconcile these two apparently contradictory statements?
What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
When Chandara took responsibility for the death of Radha, I felt like it was an escape from the devil’s claws. She came all the way to Rui’s household from her village, but life wasn’t great for her because she gets into an argument every day with Radha. Chandara was extremely disappointed at Chidam that he told her to admit the murder. Chidam wanted to save his brother, Dukhiram, from being killed. He said, “..if I lose my wife I can get another, but if my brother is hanged, how can I replace him?” We can see that Chidam wanted to sacrifice Chandara and I am pretty sure Chandara could also tell from being asked to admit. Imagine if Chandara didn’t admit to the murder, it is very likely that Chidam will sacrifice her for something else in the future. So, what Chandara did was admit and escape from the control of her husband forever; she didn’t want to be used by him and rather die. I see her more as a victim than being a hero.
Like Wendy said, I also see Chandara as a victim. I think that Chandara had no choice in whether or not she wanted to take responsibility for her sister-in-law’s death because Chidam already made that decision for her. In this story, it seems that women are seen by society as expendable objects, as shown by how Chidam said that he could easily get another wife if he looses Chandara and by the way he treats her when he catches her visiting the ghat. This idea of a women’s expendability and the objectification of them thus shows how women did not have a lot of power in society. Because of this, Chandara must have realized that there was no way the judges were going to believe her if she tried to prove her innocence because she was essentially powerless against the words of a man. Chandara is therefore, a victim of society’s degrading view of women.
How do you understand the title of the story?
We understand the title of the story, with the way Chandara copes with the situation and ending up punishing her husband by teaching a lesson. She became a hero as she emerged from being a victim. She was feeling anger and disappointment when her husband asked her for a favor to say she commit a murder which she didnt. This foreshadows that she got in control of this situation and took the blame of a murder without any excuses. For instance I think this would be a challenge for her because she will end up facing death penalty and was motivated of her anger towards her loved husband.
The way justice works in “Punishment” is when someone commits a crime, they are responsible for admitting their crime. When someone tells the truth, they confess what they saw or have done and take responsibility for their action. But when they lie, they make up a story to cover for another person. In this situation, Chidam wanted Chandara to confess that she was responsible for her sister-in-law’s death to protect his brother. In court, she lied about why she killed her sister until Chidam started to confess the truth. But the judges did not believe him and Chandara got punished for a crime that Chidam told her to do. When someone lies or tells the truth, they get punished for something they did or did not do. In “Punishment” Chandara was a victim of a crime she had to lie about to protect Chidam’s brother and was punished even though Chidam told the truth.
Chandara defends her husband in court because it was appropriate in front of others as they were in court. She was tired of the life she was living and she saw this as an escape. Chidam blamed Chandara for the murder that Chandara never committed. So, she chose death over living with her husband. It was a protest against the evil action of her husband. That’s why from anger and prote,t she says “to hell with him.” Additionally, she may have seen it as a way for Chidam to control her. Throughout their marriage, we see this struggle for power. Chidam may have tried convincing her to take the blame so that he will be seen as a hero and she will be loyal to him. He may also use this instance to blackmail her or to further spoil her reputation.
I think Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law is to leave her husband. She couldn’t stand to be with him anymore, so she was willing to die instead of trying to deal with him. She hates the fact that he is willing to cast her aside to save his brother and even more, so he tries to control her. Chandara understands her situation very well. The moment when Chidam decided to make her take the blame, she probably knew that Chidam wasn’t right for her, and he would end up taking another wife. Chandara didn’t want to be pushed around easily. So, if Chidam was going to take another wife, maybe the thought of being a pushover didn’t sit well with her. Instead, if she can’t control him and she ends up being pushed to the side, she would rather make him lose her first, like an act of final revenge. I see Chandara as a victim because her husband doesn’t treat her well, and she would end up being pushed to the side. Also, her husband is making her take the blame for something she didn’t do.
–As she approaches death, Chandara both says, “to hell with him,” and maintains that she loves her husband. How do you reconcile these two apparently contradictory statements?
I reconcile these two statements by thinking that Chandra does not like the life she is living, sine her husband is bringing back much money which is why she says “to hell with him” but loves him enough not to put his brother through death. Chandara’s husband thinks that he could get another wife, but not another brother, so this most likely got stuck in the mind of Chandara. Ultimately, she feels as if she is doing the right thing by lying about her sister-in-law’s murder.
What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
– I think the reason behind Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister in law was because she felt so betrayed and maybe even used because even though she did love her husband, he did things such as be flirtatious with the other women in town but when she tried to do the same thing he was violent towards her in order to control her. Her last straw was when her husband just blurted out that it was his wife who killed her own sister in law and even it seemed like he regretted it after, she wanted to show him their was consequences to his actions that would result in her death. I see her as a victim because all she ever wanted was the love and respect from her husband and he did not reciprocate the love she gave him.
What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law was due to the nature of her choices. She was living a pitiful life with chiram even though he didn’t betray her physically. He still didn’t give her the respect she deserves as his wife. He would go to town and flirt with the women. Also, when at first chiram asked his wife to take the blame for his brother, he said he can find another wife but not a brother. This just shows that if chiram really loved his wife he wouldn’t have asked his wife to sacrifice herself to save his brother. I see her as the victim in this situation since although she really did love her husband, he never really showed her the same regard.
Explain the significance of the details Tagore offers about the marriage between Chandara and Chidam. How do they help us understand the events of the story?
The details offered about the marriage between Chandara and Chidam is important, because it offers foreshadowing as to why he made the decision to blame his wife for the murder. Their marriage was very rocky to the point where he wanted his wife dead in order to make his life easier. This is important in retrospect, because perhaps he murdered the other wife in an attempt to also rid of his wife.
–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
What we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law is that she made a sacrifice for her husband but not for the reasons we may think. As we see in “Punishment”, Chandara takes responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law because she is having this miserable life because of her marriage with her husband Chidam. Chandara states that she would rather die than be with her husband, this is also vice versa with her husband because Chidam wants her to take the blame because it would make his life easy for himself if she was not in his life anymore. I see Chandara as a victim in “Punishment” because she is dying for someone’s else crime and he was the one who brought this whole situation towards Chandara. She states that she would rather die than be with Chidam, he clearly wanted to get rid of her from and for him to even suggest his wife to die for a crime she didn’t commit shows his true character that manipulates his wife for his own benefit.
–Explain the significance of the details Tagore offers about the marriage between Chandara and Chidam. How do they help us understand the events of the story?
Tagore says that they constantly fought and made-up, and that “Chidam thought that a bright, restless woman like Chandara could never be fully trusted; and Chandara thought that her husband whose gaze fell everywhere must be tied down firmly or he would slip through her fingers.” There is also a story where Chidam used physical violence against his wife because she fought back at him, and she walked across five villages to her uncle’s house and almost didn’t go back home with him. He realized he couldn’t really control her, and it seems like she resented not being able to control Chidam either. There is even an unsettling quote in the text that states, “Sometimes he even thought that he could only regain peace of mind if she was dead.”
All of these examples show the couple’s toxic relationship toward each other. There wasn’t a foundation of trust between the both of them, and it seemed like they also both wanted control over one another. This built up resentment and feeling of untrust that Chidam had over Chandara showed through subconsciously when Chidam thought that his wife should take the blame for his sister in-law’s death.