Tagore’s Punishment has elements about the effects the environment and society have on the human psyche. In other words, there’s a relationship between the external, in this case, the world in which the characters live, and the internal is how the characters react or behave due to external influences, whether they are aware of it or not matters not. Sometimes people are not even aware that this outside external world is affecting their physical and mental health. In Punishment, the characters’ anatomy and as well as their behavior are inflicted by the setting and social setting. It was stated, “They couldn’t come home for lunch; they just had a snack from the office. At times they were soaked by the rain; they were not paid normal labourers’ wages; indeed they were paid mainly in insults and sneers.”
The brothers are in conflict with the environment in which they work in where it rains viciously to the point of flooding, and they are also in the social conflict in that they are paid little for the amount of work they put in, but are instead paid in verbal attacks. Not only are they in an external struggle with their environment and job, but they are also facing hunger- food is a basic human survival- which without can have negative implications to the psyche and body. Yet, the brothers come home in a bad state of affairs, being verbally abused by the eldest wife, her ridiculing her husband was the cherry on the top that tipped him over the edge into killing her.
In the story Punishment it was stated, “The Deputy Magistrate committed the case to a sessions trial. Meanwhile in fields, houses, markets and bazaars, the sad or happy affairs of the world carried on; and just as in previous years, torrential monsoon rains fell on to the new rice-crop.”
In this case, no pun intended, people are focused on the trial waiting for the verdict on the murder of Radha, not aware of the bigger threat that is far more important. They should be focusing on the monsoons that are destroying their food supplies, they should be focusing on the social issues of low wages, they should be focusing on adapting to their environment in order for this issue to not repeat itself.
Punishment isn’t the only story that shows how outside influences can affect human behavior. In the story, Hedda Gabler the main character Hedda feels the constraints of the social and environmental conditions. Although there isn’t much of a natural phenomenon that impacts the characters in this story like in Punishment, nevertheless, the social implications are presently established. In Hedda Gabler there’s a great emphasis on the perception of the other. How others perceive you and how you want to be perceived in an important social factor in this story. There’s a prestige factor in Hedda Gabler’s mind of living in a big house, wearing fancy clothing, and living a superficial lavish lifestyle. In order to obtain this lifestyle Hedda Gabler settled for a man who she was not in love with. Hedda felt it was time to settle down as it was the social norm in very much of the world that we live in today for a man or a woman to get married and have children. The decision that she has made to get married to Tesman was not one she would have liked and she felt unhappy and trapped in this marriage. The scene where Hedda plays the piano in a wild melodic manner and then ubruptly stopped by Mr. Tesman was supposed to entail that it was not appropriate for the moment because Tesman’s aunt died also shows. Playing music is a freedom, a way to express one’s emotions, a way to alleviate how one feels, not bounded by social constraints. Tesman stated to Mrs. Elvsted, “This can’t be making her very happy-Seeing us at this melancholy work.” Hedda stated shortly after, I can hear you perfectly well Tesman. So, how am I supposed to get through the evenings here?” Tesman is oblivious to the fact that Hedda isn’t only happy because of the work he is doing with Mrs. Elvsted but instead she is unhappy with their marriage and the constraints of society to bind a man and woman. Hedda is living in a man’s world in which she has no job, so that makes her entirely dependent on Tesman, she isn’t allowed to go to the parties, she is in the house all day and the only thing that keeps her occupied and alleviate her pain is playing the piano and playing with her daddy’s two guns. She is trapped and hopeless to find a purpose and meaning to her life, this is why she inevitably kills herself. Begs to question, could this suicide had been prevented if society was different and therefore she would have been content with her life, suicide would have not crossed her mind.
The social and environmental factors in Hedda Gabler and Punishment causes the destruction of these characters. It makes one think about how to break away from these social constraints, do we have control of our own lives? Can we change or do we have to adapt to our social structure? Or are we bounded by environmental and social factors that consistently affect our daily lives? Is life a punishment or a blessing in disguise.
Jeremy, This is an interesting juxtaposition. I agree with you that both texts invite us to think about the ways in which even things that seem very personal are shaped by external social and environmental factors. When I read your mentioning of the rain in “Punishment,” it made me think about Hedda’s dislike of the strong sunshine in the opening scene of Hedda Gabler – a tiny indication that she too is affected by the physical reality outside her doors.