I’d like to make a connection and reflection between the short novel Punishment by Tagore and the Japanese story Bewitched by Akinari. Both of these two pieces come from Asia and they have quite a few similarities. In Bewitched, Toyo-o’s personality differs from his brother Taro: Taro is “devoted to his work, and he carries on the family business” (632) while Toyo-o has “no desire or inclination to devote his time and efforts to the family occupation” (632). In short, Toyo-o is not that successful in running business and his is often ignored by his parents. This contrast between brothers also happens in Punishment. The brothers Dukhiram Rui and Chidam Rui differs in both appearance and personality: Dukhiram is “a huge man” and he seems “not to understand the world very well” (895) while Chidam seems to “have been carefully craved from shiny black rock” (896). In my view, the description of the differentiation between brothers can helps us to better understand the causes of the tragedy. People who are not excellent as their brothers tend to seek for respect and understanding from women, or their wives. That’s why Toyo-o is attracted again and again by Manago and Taro kills his wife just because she doesn’t respect him and even laugh at his futility when she says, “Where is there food? Did you give me anything to cook? Must I earn money myself to buy it” (894). The lack of confidence leads to Toyo-o being trapped by witches and Taro lose temper and senses.
Another noticeable similarity is the act of the villagers. Toyo-o is mistakenly blamed by the villagers and Chandara is unjustly taken into the jail. Both of them suffers from the rumor and the collective behavior from their villagers. When rumors accumulate and are widely spread, the victims of rumors even don’t want to defend for themselves anymore. Maybe that’s part of reason why Chandara commit a crime that doesn’t belong to her and take it for granted. She is just too tired, too astonished and too weak to resist.
Yanyan, Your observation about the pairs of brothers in the two texts is an interesting one. I’m not sure if there is much of a parallel, however, between Toyo-o’s older brother and Dukhiram – since we know that Taro is a model eldest son, while Dukhiram seems like a brute. If anything, the difference between the two sons in both stories helps us make sense of the romantic pairings. It is Toyo-o’s Kyoto-loving character that makes him the perfect target for Manago, and Chidam and Chandara are described in Tagore’s text as being perfectly matched in their physical attractiveness as well as the strength of their characters.
Hi Professor, thank you for your comment. I agree with your idea. By the way, is my understanding about the act of villagers and Chandara’s death reasonable?