Rabindranath Tagore’s “Punishment” and Feng Menglong’s “Du Tenth Stinks the Jewel Box in Anger” are both centered around the theme of betrayal, and the tone and reaction of some of the characters in both texts are very similar. Both stories are about women (Du Tenth and Chandara Rui) who were in love but ended up being betrayed by the one they loved. In Du Tenth Stinks the Jewel Box in Anger, Du Tenth loved Li Jia and was ready to start a new life with him, but along the line, he betrayed her as he gives her away to another man for money, and to save his image in front of his father. Similarly, in the text Punishment, Chidam Rui blames the murder of Dukhiram Rui on Chandara just to save his brother who committed the crime. We see in both text that the betrayal came as a result of family interest.
In both texts, we could see that the betrayers (Jai Li and Chidam) both carry out their betrayal in a manipulative way. In Du Tenth Stinks the Jewel Box in Anger, when Jai Li has the conversation with Du Tenth, he says; “With that thousand taels I will have a pretext on which to call 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. It is the reason that I am grieved and weep.” Similarly, in Punishment, Chidam tells Chandara; “Don’t worry—if you do what I tell you, you’ll be quite safe.” We can see that they both made it seem like they loved these women and were betraying them because they were helpless.
Again, in both texts, both ladies reaction to this betrayal was very alike. In Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger when Jai Li tells Du Tenth about him giving her away, Du Tenth replies to Jai Li saying; “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.” In Punishment, the text tells us that after Chidam asked Chandara to admit to the murder, “she 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.” They were both broken and replied sarcastically because they could not believe what was happening to them. What was supposed to complete them, ended up betraying and killing them.
They both took the bold step of removing themselves from the situation in a very brutal way. They were both broken and preferred to die than making any type of amends. They decided to take the situation for what it was, and not try to “reason” with their betrayers in any way because they had seen what needed to be seen.
Eunice – You have a wonderful insight here when you point out that, in both texts, the male protagonist doesn’t simply betray his partner, but also manages to pretend that he has her best interest at heart. What do we make of this duplicity? I am wondering if Li Jia and Chidam are not only trying to fool Du Tenth and Chandara, but if they are also engaging in a form of self-deception as well.