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Women as a Symbol of Nationalism

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Women as a Symbol of Nationalism
Rumnaz Fatema Prof. Firdous Azim ENG 611 22-12-2014 Woman as a symbol of Nationalism in The Home and the World “The naked passion of self love of Nations, in its darken delirium of greed, is dancing to the class of steel and the howling verses of vengeances.”1 This “naked passion of self love of Nations” shapes Rabindranath Tagore’s novel entitled The Home and The World (1919), was originally published in Bengali as Ghare Baire(1916) that voices Indian Nationalism, especially, Swadeshi movement that started as a protest against the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon in early twentieth century-1905 and “Bande Mataram”2 (Hail to Motherland) became the motto among the nationalists. Tagore’s woman Bimala, the pivotal character of this novel, emerges as an emblem of tradition and nation during Nationalism. On the other hand, Partha Chatterjee, a cultural theorist in his “The Nationalist Resolution of the Women’s Question” criticizes Nationalism that was futile to emancipate women, though there were social reforms to resolve women’s position during ‘so-called Renaissance’ period. This paper is an attempt to explore the representation of Bimala as a symbol of tradition, nation, and her attitudes towards Nationalism that eventually leads her to symbolize Nationalism herself and how ultimately woman remains at home being a spiritual entity as traced by Partha Chatterjee.
1. Rabindranath Tagore, “The Sunset of the Century”
2. A song composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhay Nationalism, the bedrock of this novel, is an ideology based on individual’s attitudes and actions when he is concerned about his nation and devoted, loyal or true to his nation. For being so one must have respect for the cultures and traditions of his nation and have to be a keen follower of those traditions. Tagore portrays Bimala as a symbol of a nation- India who finds the traditional mark of vermillion and red boarded sari as



Bibliography: Atkinson, David. “Tagore’s The Home and the World: A Call for a New World Order.” The International Fiction Review 20.2. 1993. Web. Chatterjee, Partha. “The Nationalist Resolution of Women’s Question” Recasting Women. Sovia,Nur. Fariha, Inayatul. “The Representation of Indian Nationalism in Rabindranath Tagore’s The Home and the World.” Web. <http://jurnalonline.um.ac.id/data/artikel/artikel60E99C17A5DA80A7E184984EAF262682.pdf> Tagore.Rabindranath. 1916. The Home and the World. Surendranath Tagore Translation. Dec 2004. Web.

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