Rabindranath Tagore’s short story “Punishment” is very similar to “Hedda Gabler” by Henrik Ibsen. In both texts we see that death comes upon characters who don’t really have a lot of freedom. Hedda and Chandara are both similar characters. They both are in unhappy marriages with very little freedom. They both rely on their husbands to bring home money and food for them. Chandara instead fights with her sister-in-law all Radha and no one cares because women in Bangladesh have very little power. Chidam also doesn’t allow Chandara to go to ghat by herself and forces her to have very little freedom. When Chidam’s brother Dukhiram kills his wife, Radha Chidam says Chandara did it to protect his older brother. “Chidam asked Chandara to take the blame on herself. She was dumbfounded”. This quote shows that Chandara isn’t even valuable to Chidam and that he is willing to get rid of her because he chooses his brother over his wife. Hedda and Chandara are very similar here for the fact that both are living in a male dominated society and they want to escape their lives than suffer the consequences of their husbands’ actions. “Then please give it to me sir, said Chandara. ‘Do what you like I can’t take it anymore’”. Chandara is willing to die because of Chidam and Dukhiram since she feels powerless and wants to become free of them. The only way she can become free is to be killed. Hedda Gabler dies in a similar fashion. Since she gave Lovborg the pistol that he used to kill himself she is guilty of a crime, the only person who knows this is Judge Brack. Brack promises to keep her crime a secret if she has an affair with him. Hedda decides to escape Brack and the unhappy life she is in by killing herself. Similarly, to Chandara, Hedda could only be free by doing this.
Matthew, I don’t disagree with your suggestion that there are important parallels between Hedda and Chandara. However, there are some important differences too. After all, Ibsen makes clear that Hedda comes from a higher class than George, so in this respect, she is very different from Chandara, whose choices are limited by her poverty. Hedda is admired and respected by those around her, including her husband. While Chandara is expected to be subservient in her marriage, it’s clear that George is ready to defer to Hedda in all matters. What’s striking then is that Hedda’s privileges don’t make her feel much freer than Chandara seems to feel. What does that tell us about women’s status?