In the book, Punishment, Dukhiram and Chidam are brothers with conflicting wives that argue endlessly. Based on the Indian culture, both men work to sustain the household as the wives tend to the home as housewives, but the women find turmoil as they cannot be stand each other’s presence. The tragic death of Radha due to Dukhiram murdering her, upfires a conflict amongst Chidam and Chandara. The dehumanization of women in Punishment rises when women are subjected to domestic duties, have no voice in society, and when a man uses his power to convince a woman to his plan. Indian society submits women into a caste of housewives duties, where the job of a woman is to tend to the household and children. Radha and Chandara are housewives who
…show more content…
Fortunately, Chandara does not struggle in accepting her husband’s proposal in taking the blame in Radha’s murder. They were fighting endlessly so as her culture oppresses her, she decides it is best to keep quiet and agree to take the blame. Through the silence, her anger is reciprocated against her husband because he focuses on saving his brother’s life over his wife. The sign of dehumanization occurs when Chidam says, “Do as I say – if you do what I tell you. You’ll be quite safe.”(Tagore,2623). Chidam professes this because he knows it is easier to get a woman out of jail, than it would be for Dukhiram, and it would be believable because the women argued so often. Furthermore, the dehumanization of women in Indian culture is a norm. “Aryans treated their women in a brutal way. Aryan ideology holds that a woman is worth half a man. It also holds that her husband is her master and guru. Brahmin men afforded themselves special privileges. They contain many provisions that discriminate against lower castes and untouchables and many provisions that place Brahmin and high caste men in a superior position. It is particularly harsh on women,” (Rajkumar, Isaac Newton., “Indian Women Are Voiceless,” 2016). Comparably, Chandara must submit to what her husband demands as the inferior woman, because her job as a woman is to only
Fortunately, Chandara does not struggle in accepting her husband’s proposal in taking the blame in Radha’s murder. They were fighting endlessly so as her culture oppresses her, she decides it is best to keep quiet and agree to take the blame. Through the silence, her anger is reciprocated against her husband because he focuses on saving his brother’s life over his wife. The sign of dehumanization occurs when Chidam says, “Do as I say – if you do what I tell you. You’ll be quite safe.”(Tagore,2623). Chidam professes this because he knows it is easier to get a woman out of jail, than it would be for Dukhiram, and it would be believable because the women argued so often. Furthermore, the dehumanization of women in Indian culture is a norm. “Aryans treated their women in a brutal way. Aryan ideology holds that a woman is worth half a man. It also holds that her husband is her master and guru. Brahmin men afforded themselves special privileges. They contain many provisions that discriminate against lower castes and untouchables and many provisions that place Brahmin and high caste men in a superior position. It is particularly harsh on women,” (Rajkumar, Isaac Newton., “Indian Women Are Voiceless,” 2016). Comparably, Chandara must submit to what her husband demands as the inferior woman, because her job as a woman is to only