Punishment
Written by Rabindranath Tagore Published in Bengali 1893
In Tagore’s writing, Punishment, the character of Chidam is taking the fall for the husband, Chandara, for the death of her sister. The husband had killed the sister because he was angry with her for not making dinner. She had been exasperated and exclaimed at him, “Did you give me anything to cook? Must I earn money myself to buy it?” (Tagore, 1893)With this lashing out he was quite angry and plunged a knife into her head. He spreads a rumor that the sister had killed her. Later on the husband tells the sister in manipulation, “Don’t worry- if you do what I tell you, you’ll be quite safe.” (Tagore, 1893 ) So when the police interrogate her she lies to them and says she couldn’t stand her anymore. She takes the blame in court as well. Then after the brothers confess to the crime the court system still deems her guilty. They say that he is guilty because the brothers are trying to cover up for her. She rather take on death then be subjected to being with the men anymore. This literature examines the position of women in society in India. They are punished in an unjust way. The men are looked at to be the truthful ones in this situation and the women are not looked at as equally. Both in the story for a murder and in their society as a whole. So it’s examining the inequality between husbands and wives of India.
Literary Elements
3 Theme: Dehumanization: illustrates how women are dehumanized. Men use Chandara as a tool to cover up the murder. Her life is deemed as less valuable than Dukhiram’s. 4 Symbolism The Pitcher- accidental breaking of a pitcher by a young girl is a symbol of the small, seemingly insignificant events that can trigger devastating consequences in a patriarchal society.
Irony: The irony is that at the end of the story when Chandara confesses that he actually killed the sister, the court didn’t believe him and Chidam is still found to be guilty and to be put to death. 2 Realism Tagore presents a realistic and unembellished portrayal of life in a poor family in rural India. This includes the men's anger over low pay, the lack of food, and the harsh disciplinary actions, such as the description of a girl made to stand in the sun with her arms raised.
A literary work that contains similarities to Tagore's story would be "The Handmaid's Tale," by Margaret Atwood. The individuals in this tale are not from India but they are of a different background and do not live in the 19th century. This time period is set in a dystopian future speculated to be around the year 2005. In this story there is a critique of how the state can use religious fundamentals to justify their political control over every aspect of life including reproductive rights. The gender inequality in this story is also similar to Tagore's punishment This story is a commentary in the stripping of women's rights. The handmaids are reduced to biological vessels for procreation. This highlights the dangers of a society that views women as property rather than people. This resonates with me because if there can be similarities of what is happening in India to what can happen in the future for women that could be concerning. If we were to be subjected to this sort of treatment then the world would turn into a very cruel place.
The similarities intertwined between both stories of the handmaid's tale and tagore's punishment include the perspectives of women. In Tagore's Punishment, Rabindranath Tagore represents the dehumanization of women and applies themes of invisibility and expendibility to demonstrate how society dehumanizes women."(Medium, 2025) When looking at the invisibility of women it can be seen in India but also in other countries that view women in a different light. Such as in Muslim countries when they must wear a full covering with only their eyes showing. This dictation of their dress is very extreme in a sense and can highlight how some men can obtain control over every aspect of their wife. In Tagore's other writing of the Cabuliwallah, the father was going to shoo away the man that wanted to see the daughter before her wedding. It can be seen that someone is making a choice of who gets to see the daughter. The choice of who she is being married off to. Another highlight of the control over women in India in society can be seen here. It is important to study the literature mentioned thus far to see how society can operate in different countries. In a side note if there were to be a side analysis of the men's perspective of women in compared with the women in the Handmaid’s tale; could it be said that the men in India view women as property and vessels for giving birth as well? It can be important to speculate to show awareness for a country that can treat it’s women in a different way.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale https://medium.com/literary-analyses/dehumanization-of-women-in-tagore-s-punishment-70f504352cdb https://jpellegrino.com/teaching/ENGL2112/2112%20texts/007%20-%20Tagore%20-%20Punishment.pdf
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Transcript
Punishment
Written by Rabindranath Tagore Published in Bengali 1893
In Tagore’s writing, Punishment, the character of Chidam is taking the fall for the husband, Chandara, for the death of her sister. The husband had killed the sister because he was angry with her for not making dinner. She had been exasperated and exclaimed at him, “Did you give me anything to cook? Must I earn money myself to buy it?” (Tagore, 1893)With this lashing out he was quite angry and plunged a knife into her head. He spreads a rumor that the sister had killed her. Later on the husband tells the sister in manipulation, “Don’t worry- if you do what I tell you, you’ll be quite safe.” (Tagore, 1893 ) So when the police interrogate her she lies to them and says she couldn’t stand her anymore. She takes the blame in court as well. Then after the brothers confess to the crime the court system still deems her guilty. They say that he is guilty because the brothers are trying to cover up for her. She rather take on death then be subjected to being with the men anymore. This literature examines the position of women in society in India. They are punished in an unjust way. The men are looked at to be the truthful ones in this situation and the women are not looked at as equally. Both in the story for a murder and in their society as a whole. So it’s examining the inequality between husbands and wives of India.
Literary Elements
3 Theme: Dehumanization: illustrates how women are dehumanized. Men use Chandara as a tool to cover up the murder. Her life is deemed as less valuable than Dukhiram’s. 4 Symbolism The Pitcher- accidental breaking of a pitcher by a young girl is a symbol of the small, seemingly insignificant events that can trigger devastating consequences in a patriarchal society.
Irony: The irony is that at the end of the story when Chandara confesses that he actually killed the sister, the court didn’t believe him and Chidam is still found to be guilty and to be put to death. 2 Realism Tagore presents a realistic and unembellished portrayal of life in a poor family in rural India. This includes the men's anger over low pay, the lack of food, and the harsh disciplinary actions, such as the description of a girl made to stand in the sun with her arms raised.
A literary work that contains similarities to Tagore's story would be "The Handmaid's Tale," by Margaret Atwood. The individuals in this tale are not from India but they are of a different background and do not live in the 19th century. This time period is set in a dystopian future speculated to be around the year 2005. In this story there is a critique of how the state can use religious fundamentals to justify their political control over every aspect of life including reproductive rights. The gender inequality in this story is also similar to Tagore's punishment This story is a commentary in the stripping of women's rights. The handmaids are reduced to biological vessels for procreation. This highlights the dangers of a society that views women as property rather than people. This resonates with me because if there can be similarities of what is happening in India to what can happen in the future for women that could be concerning. If we were to be subjected to this sort of treatment then the world would turn into a very cruel place.
The similarities intertwined between both stories of the handmaid's tale and tagore's punishment include the perspectives of women. In Tagore's Punishment, Rabindranath Tagore represents the dehumanization of women and applies themes of invisibility and expendibility to demonstrate how society dehumanizes women."(Medium, 2025) When looking at the invisibility of women it can be seen in India but also in other countries that view women in a different light. Such as in Muslim countries when they must wear a full covering with only their eyes showing. This dictation of their dress is very extreme in a sense and can highlight how some men can obtain control over every aspect of their wife. In Tagore's other writing of the Cabuliwallah, the father was going to shoo away the man that wanted to see the daughter before her wedding. It can be seen that someone is making a choice of who gets to see the daughter. The choice of who she is being married off to. Another highlight of the control over women in India in society can be seen here. It is important to study the literature mentioned thus far to see how society can operate in different countries. In a side note if there were to be a side analysis of the men's perspective of women in compared with the women in the Handmaid’s tale; could it be said that the men in India view women as property and vessels for giving birth as well? It can be important to speculate to show awareness for a country that can treat it’s women in a different way.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale https://medium.com/literary-analyses/dehumanization-of-women-in-tagore-s-punishment-70f504352cdb https://jpellegrino.com/teaching/ENGL2112/2112%20texts/007%20-%20Tagore%20-%20Punishment.pdf
Use an image
Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? Well: 90% of the information we assimilate comes through sight, and we also retain 42% more information when the content is moving.
With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to leave your audience in awe. You can also highlight a specific phrase or piece of information that will be etched in your audience's memory, and even embed external content that surprises: videos, photos, audios... Whatever you want!
'Including citations always reinforces our presentation. Breaks the monotony'
- Always cite the author
Write a title here
Disciplines such as Visual Thinking facilitate the taking of visually rich notes through the use of images, graphics, infographics, and simple drawings. Go for it!
Visual content is a cross-cutting, universal language, like music. We are capable of understanding images from millions of years ago, even from other cultures.
Did you know that Genially allows you to share your creation directly, without the need for downloads? Ready for your audience to view it on any device and share it anywhere.
Use this space to put a great phrase
With Extras
Visual
WOW Effect
Animated
Interactive
Genially
Ingenuity
Amazing
Design
Dynamic
Magic
Creativity
Very WOW
Step 4
Step 2
Step 5
Step 3
Step 1
#keyword
75%
the information we process comes through the view
WOW presentation
Boring presentation
Capture the attention of your audience
Generate yawns in your audience
Facilitatelearning
Communicate ina concise manner
Motivate the audience
Surprise youraudience
Design howto visualize it
Plan thecontent
Text + icons
Create experiences with your content
It has a WOW effect. Very WOW.
Measure results and experiment
Engage and surprise your audience
It is organized, hierarchical, and structured
Make your audience remember the message
A great presentation…
Improves communication on any topic
Matches with your audience...
And makes them part of the message
02:30
Q&A
Thank you very much!
your-email@genially.com yourwebsite.com
25%
Leave your audience speechless with interactivity.
75%
You can add text, emojis, GIFs, videos, tables, and much more.
Insert a great video for your presentation and use this space to describe it. Multimedia content is essential in a presentation to leave everyone speechless. Additionally, this way you will summarize the content and entertain your audience.