“Punishment” Reading Response – Sumi Paul

Reading the short story “Punishment” by Rabindranath Tagore, I noticed some similarities to the story “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger” by Feng Menglong. In both these short stories, women are affected by the men’s actions. In “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger”, Li Jia and Du Tenth fell in love. However, due to concerns about money, Li Jia risked his relationship. They had promised each other loyalty and love to one another but Li Jia broke his promise. He betrayed her when he was willing to take money from a stranger in exchange for her. This is similar to “Punishment” because in this story, Chidam betrayed his wife, Chandara. Being married means they must have had vows to each other. However, Chidam had betrayed his wife when he put the blame of the murder of his sister-in-law on her.  He said “Thakur, if I lose my wife I can get another, but if my brother is hanged, how can I replace him?” He put his family first before his wife and she felt betrayed. Tagore describes the moment of her feeling of betrayal when he says “When her husband asked her to admit to the murder, Chandara stared at him, stunned; her black eyes burnt him like fire. Then she shrank back, as if to escape his devilish clutches.” She throws her life away because she realized how her husband, the man she loves, betrayed her and did not feel remorse for telling her to take the blame. This is why when she was questioned, she agreed to the murder. This is similar to what happened in “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger”, when Du Tenth threw the jewel box and then killed herself by plunging into the water. She tells Li Jia “You have abandoned me at midjourney and betrayed my earnest heart.” In both these stories, the women are betrayed by their male partners and they end their life as a result of the betrayal.