Tagore’s Condemnation of the Marital Role of Indian Women
In his 1892 short story Punishment and his 1894 short story Kabuliwala, Rabindranath Tagore condemns the marital role of women in 19th century Indian society. Nearly everyone was married -- “in 1911, only 2 percent of the female population above the age of fifteen… were unmarried” due to the social stigma of being single (Sen 80). Naturally, many of these women were unhappy due to being forced into marriage. Tagore criticizes this pressure placed on women by Indian society by contrasting the lives of Indian women before and after marriage. (90 words)
In his novels, Tagore highlights the freedom of Indian girls prior to being married. Kabuliwala opens with a father describing the intelligence and happiness of his daughter, Mini. This father praises how Mini “acquire[d] the gift of language” in about a year and how she “hold[s] her peace” (Tagore 899). Tagore also notes the curiosity of this young woman when Mini remarks that “the doorman calls a crow a kauwa instead of a kak” (Tagore 899). He also notes Mini’s innocence, when Mini asks the Kabuliwala if he is “go[ing] to [his] in-laws’ house” while the blood-stained Kabuliwala is being arrested (Tagore 902). On the day of her marriage, Mini “blushe[s] and turn[s] her face away” when the Kabuliwala asks her if she is “going to [her] in-laws” (Tagore 904). This shows that prior to her marriage, she believes that marriage is all about love due to her being embarrassed about it. As a result of their innocence, girls prior to marriage were “unaware of the consequences of their decisions” in marriage (Sen 96). Through his details of Mini, Tagore shows how girls prior to marriage acted as and were treated like independent human beings. (200 words)
On the other hand, Tagore shows how women had virtually no rights after marriage. In colonial India, women were “denied the right to escape unhappy marriages” in order to maintain an acceptable social standing, giving husbands full control over their wives (Sen 80). They were
In his novels, Tagore highlights the freedom of Indian girls prior to being married. Kabuliwala opens with a father describing the intelligence and happiness of his daughter, Mini. This father praises how Mini “acquire[d] the gift of language” in about a year and how she “hold[s] her peace” (Tagore 899). Tagore also notes the curiosity of this young woman when Mini remarks that “the doorman calls a crow a kauwa instead of a kak” (Tagore 899). He also notes Mini’s innocence, when Mini asks the Kabuliwala if he is “go[ing] to [his] in-laws’ house” while the blood-stained Kabuliwala is being arrested (Tagore 902). On the day of her marriage, Mini “blushe[s] and turn[s] her face away” when the Kabuliwala asks her if she is “going to [her] in-laws” (Tagore 904). This shows that prior to her marriage, she believes that marriage is all about love due to her being embarrassed about it. As a result of their innocence, girls prior to marriage were “unaware of the consequences of their decisions” in marriage (Sen 96). Through his details of Mini, Tagore shows how girls prior to marriage acted as and were treated like independent human beings. (200 words)
On the other hand, Tagore shows how women had virtually no rights after marriage. In colonial India, women were “denied the right to escape unhappy marriages” in order to maintain an acceptable social standing, giving husbands full control over their wives (Sen 80). They were
Cited: Sen, Samita. ""Without His Consent?": Marriage and Women 's Migration in Colonial India."International Labor and Working-Class History 65 (2004): 77-104 26 Nov. 2013.