–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?
To me when Chandara decides to take the blame for the death she is looked at more as a victim than a hero. Chandara had no business in that situation until her husband brought her in it.She also ends up realizing what type of person he really is. She dies for something she didn’t do and also dies from her husband’s lack of consideration. He jeopardizes her life for his brother and in the end it’s her that suffers the consequences for what happened.
Why do you think she ignores her husband’s advice and doesn’t try to assert her innocence?
How does justice work in the world of “Punishment”? What happens when one tells the truth? What happens when one lies?
Justice in the world, the punishment does not seem fair. Before judging Chandara or anything after the death scene. The authority guards should research whether what Chandara said is true or not. Not just believe what she says but to see the reality. This scene shows us that it is preferable to lie rather than tell the truth. If Chandara had the lie and her husband too. Maybe the culprit was not going to be known.
So what does this tell us about justice? Sounds like the system doesn’t work fairly.
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 included by Tagore about Chandara and Chidam’s marriage is very significant in the development of these characters within the story. It depicts a misconception of what love within a marriage is supposed to be. Despite the various instances of infidelity, physical abuse, constant arguing, and even Chidam’s wishing her dead, there is an insistence that they love each other. However, none of these events are indicative of love, but rather betrayal and a sense of ownership. This is seen even at the moments approaching Chandara’s death, that although her husband has chosen to protect his brother over his wife, she says that she loves him dearly. This contradiction is further seen when she dismisses his request to see her right before her execution.
I’m wondering from your comment whether we, as readers, believe that these two people love each other or not?
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 all due to her love for her husband where he didnt want anyone to face charges but in this case he stated how he can always get another wife or sister-in-law but a brother can not be replaced. This makes her a victim because they forced her to pledge guilty making her think that at the end both brothers are going to find a solution and she wont be charged with the death.
So are you suggesting that she sacrifices herself FOR her husband? Interesting…
How do you understand the title of the story?
Before reading the short story I immediately thought of physical punishment when thinking of the word punishment. I thought of it as a physical negative effect of your actions(basically consequences for your regrettable actions). Although Chandara didn’t seem to regret her actions for sticking up for Dukhiram actions, she still faced death as a punishment. However her actions did make her husband guilty as she says “To hell with him”, as a way of getting payback. Guilt ties into the concept of mental punishment which I remembered after reading the short story.
Hmmm, so who is being punished?
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 believe Chandra’s choice of taking the blame for her sister-in-law’s death was very like her character. Tagore gives us a backstory of how Chidam and Chandra had a fight, and Chidam ended up locking Chandara in a room but she escaped and went three villages away to her uncle’s home. This gives us insight into what type of person Chandara is; she doesn’t let anyone tie her down, doesn’t tolerate Chidam’s wrongdoings, and makes sure that Chidam knows how disappointed she is by taking extreme measures. So at first, I would say Chandara was a victim as she was wrongfully accused of the murder of her sister-in-law. But her consistency in sticking to the lie that she was the murderer makes her a hero for herself in a way. I think this situation revealed to her that her husband truly doesn’t care about her because of how quickly he was able to put the blame on her. So she decides to take his plan and kind of outdoes it on purpose to save herself from Chidam but also to make a statement to Chidam that he messed up and there’s no coming back from it.
Thanks for this insight. What a price to pay in order to send a message to her husband!
How do you understand the title of the story?
The title, “Punishment”, foreshadows the fate of al three major characters, Dukhiram, Chidam, and Chandara. Chandara is wrongfully punished for killing her sister-in-law and is later hung for this. Whereas her husband, Chidam gets punished by his wife to live a life of solitude and with no one by his side. Lastly, it’s safe to assume that Dukhiram is punished by his guilt after killing his wife and getting his sister-in-law hung for his crime. Everyone is punished in some way in this story, spanning from a death sentence to mental turmoil.
But you left out poor Radha!
How do you understand the title of the story?
When just reading the title, I immediately jumped to a couple of words to try to predict and assume what the short story was about. Words like guilt, and the phrase payback or getting what you deserve is repeatedly in my head. In this story, Chandra is the one who gets punished. This is in an Indian society, where it is clearly more men dominated, abusing and mistreating women. Therefore, Chandra is forced to take the blame for the death of her sister-in-law because of her husband. Chandra fighting for her justice dies with one goal: getting her husband and his brother punished for their actions.
How do you understand the title of the story?
“Punishment” is a fitting title for the story. This is because all of the main characters in the story have their own version of punishment as seen through their actions. First, Radha is punished with death by the hands of her own husband because of something like her temper. Moreover, Chandara is punished with a devastating death in order to protect Chidam and his brother by taking responsibility for Radha’s death. On the other hand, the brothers are being punished by their conscience. They are both feeling guilty about what they did to Radha and Chandara because it was a result of anger and selfishness.
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 believe Chandara is the hero in this story. She had nothing to do with the death of her sister-in-law until her husband told her about it. While reading the story I assumed that Chandara was the only woman who did whatever she wanted to do. She did not let her husband abuse her. I believe she realizes that her husband doesn’t admire her, since he believes that she is replaceable and his brother is not. Chandara looks like she wants to escape the life she is living but ends up being trapped in it again. Pleading guilty was her only way out of the life she was living and she asked for it and knew what she wanted. This is shown when the Judge asks Chandara “Do you know the penalty for the crime you have confused? ‘No’ said Chandara. ‘It is death by hanging’. Then please give it to me, sir said Chandra. Do what you like -I can’t take it anymore” (Tagore 898). This demonstrates that she knows what she asked for.
How do you understand the title of the story?
When I was reading ‘Punishment’, I started to jump to conclusions just from the title word itself. It is pretty clear as to what the title means. It means that someone did something and would be getting punished either physically of mentally. The title gives us the insights into three major characters that make up ‘Punishment’. The characters are Dukhiram, Chidam, and Chandara. Chidam is punished by his wife to live a single life with no one by his side. Chandara is hanged to death because of false allegations of killing her sister in law. Dukhiram is punished by his own guilt by letting Chandara take the blame for murdering whereas Dukhiram was the one who actually murdered his wife. So as we can all see, all the major characters are being punished either by death or by mental breakdown.
How does justice work in the world of “Punishment”? What happens when one tells the truth? What happens when one lies?
Justice is delivered based on someone’s (jury/judge) belief not facts, and so not everyone who was punished was guilty. We see how many of the people were convinced it was Chandara because the neighbor constantly heard the “shrill screams” of the two women fighting. For the neighbor that was enough “evidence”, also the credibility of Ramlochan who just so happened to be a major “witness” though he never saw it happen. The verdict was delivered on lack of evidence and simply by word of mouth, which happens often with our current justice system too.
The lie was much easier to believe than the truth, because it was told over and over again. Chandara had “said the same thing repeatedly” (898), which made her more believable to the court than the husband that switched their story at the last moment. While the truth that was only told once, was ignored. Also when Ramlochan was making an excuse for Chidam, “your brother Dukhu returned in the evening wanting his food…he struck his wife on the head” (895). Ramlochan thought he was making up a lie, but in fact was the truth. Which shows how people perceive truth/lie, is oftentimes their own opinions and imaginations.
– How do we understand the title of the story?
Based on what I’ve read and observing the characters’ acts and who they are depicted as throughout the novel, I believe the term “Punishment” focuses on the three primary characters, who are primarily Chidam, Dukhiram, and Chandara. Punishment is also associated with the term “revenge,” and I believe that is precisely what will be done to the brothers. Both brothers duped the wife into believing that their plan was superior and that if she followed through, they would have her back. It ends out that Chandara was put under the bus, and none of the brothers stuck to the “plan” and had her imprisoned for a crime she was not guilty of but was an accessory to. Chandara’s statements to her husband near the conclusion, “tell him I said go to hell,” come across and have her wondering about retribution for having her depicted in this manner which she was not engaged in to begin with.
Interesting – so you are suggesting that, even when he was giving her advice about what to say in order to save herself, Chidam knows that his wife will be put to death?
How do we understand the title of the story?
Before knowing what the story was based on, I was already making assumptions based on the title itself, “punishment”. The first thing that came to mind was it obviously being a negative connotation. After reading, I feel like the reason why it’s being called punishment is because each character got what was coming for them (Chidam, Chandara and Dukhiram). Chandara and and Chidam’s relationship isn’t necessarily described as stable because he’s excessively dominant towards her. As a way to escape this and be free, she sticks to the lie and is hung to death. And for Chidam and Dukhiram, they’re left with no wives and just having to bear the thought of their actions forever.
In what sense does Chandara “get what’s coming for her”? After all, she is put to death for a murder she didn’t commit.
–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 see Chandara as the victim because as she mentioned that she would be willing to give up her youth for her husband. I think if she would willingly go and say that she would take the fall then she would be a hero but since the husband kind of her pushed her into it then she is a victim. If he really loved his wife then he would have just turned himself in from the moment he got caught instead of trying to make this elaborate plan to frame the wife.
Q: How do you understand the title of the story?
A: Prior to reading the story, I wasn’t expecting too much, just an “oh, I suppose somebody did something wrong and now they’re paying the price for it”. After reading the text, I think it has something to do with not only the physical punishment Chandara has to endure from her execution but also the mind games being played during the trial regarding Radha’s death. Chidam knew the true reason why his sister-in-law died, but decided to come up with an excuse to shift the blame on Chandara instead of Dukhiram. Though in disbelief, Chandara said she did indeed kill Radha, but had a good relationship with her and when asked if she loved her husband, she said she did. Chidam, slightly horrified that Chandara had come up with her own alibi, slowly broke down and had said she’s innocent. Chandara kept up the same story until the very end, even when both Chidam and Dukhiram admitted the truth in an attempt to spare her execution. Chandara’s punishment, though unjust, was the death sentence, while Chidam and Dukhiram’s punishments were more inside their head, slowly breaking down until they cracked.
Yes, I agree that there is more than one kind of punishment going on here.
How do you understand the title of the story?
Before reading the passage, my first interpretation of the title was in relation to consequences. Being punished for your wrongdoings. Specifically I associate this word with physical pain however I feel it is used differently for the story. The punishment in question is the shame that Chidam and Dukhitam feel and the guilty conscience they must carry for the rest of their lives. There is punishment in many forms present in this passage. Starting with physical punishment of Dukhiram killing his wife, to then a sort of emotional punishment. It is interesting too that when the brothers finally decided to do the right thing, they still were unsuccessful which is maybe the worst punishment of all.
Yes, there is real irony in the fact that the truth is dismissed as a lie during the trial.
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 believe Chandara was a hero, but a hero to herself. We see the character of Chandara throughout the story, she is very strong willed. Once she realized how her husband essentially sacrificed her for his brother, she had enough. She wanted to assume power and control, and decided to go through with taking blame. She did this, not just to get back at her husband, but to follow her own will.
How do you understand the title of the story?
The title “Punishment” means that in the story each character suffers from a different type of punishmen. The meaning behind the title is to exhibit how society dehumanizes ladies because Chandara was accused for the murder of her sister in law, which she didn’t commit.