Women Empowerment and Characterization in Rabindranath Tagore’s Writings

By Deepasree Dey

It is strange to think that I am part of a culture which dedicates the incantation “Yaa Devi Sarva-Bhutessu Shakti-Ruupenna Samsthitaa Namas-Tasyai Namas-Tasyai Namas-tasyai Namo Namah” (meaning – to that Devi Who in all beings is abiding in the form of power, salutions to her) while simultaneously laying down in the Manu Smriti that women should be under the surveillance of their fathers in their childhood, their husbands in their youth and if their husbands pass away, they should be under their sons’ control. 

It is the same culture in which the embodiment of power is not a god but a goddess however, the ‘ansh’ or part of that goddess – women are considered to be ‘abala’ or powerless. 

For ages, this thought has been penned down in popular Bengali literature. Surrounded by the concrete walls and brocade curtains of an oddly romanticized ‘Andarmahal’, women had no voice of their own, there was no depth in their characterization. 

The description of their lives in their 'pigeon coups' would at the most speak of their beauty or virtues, or the pair of diamond flowers which glistened on their ears like the morning dew, or how the scarlet rays of the sun tinting their faces was reminiscent of the vermillion on the forehead of a newlywed bride.

Rabindranath Tagore breaks this tradition and invites discord into the perfectly monotonous harmony of the wife-mother-daughter dynamics of the female characters portrayed in Bengali literature. 

Rabindranath Tagore
(Source: www.nobelprize.org)

Women in Tagore’s writings are not merely the stereotypical epitomes of virtue and sacrifice but living breathing human beings who feel myriads of emotions, who are prone to making mistakes. 

Unlike what the ideal notion of femininity suggests, these female characters are not submissive to patriarchal oppression. They have a voice of their own; a voice that yearns to express their true feelings, a voice which sometimes has a subtle undertone of protest and sometimes distinctly raises objections to wrongdoings, not caring about the frowned brows and death glares of the society.

As is proclaimed by his vivacious heroine Chitrangada, women in Tagore’s writings are neither portrayed to be goddesses who should be worshipped nor as suppressed, voiceless women or powerless creatures who exist to be exploited by patriarchy and trampled by the society; they are portrayed to be human, delightfully human! Humans who do not solely exist to be dominated by act as a source of inspiration to men, whose identity is not just limited to their husbands’ or fathers’ identities. 

Excerpt from 'Chitrangada'
(Source: www.geetabitan.com)

Women in Tagore's writings have a distinct personality and strong character which is in no way subordinate to that of their male counterparts.

Tagore is probably the first male author who does not consider the societal standards of beauty to be the most impressive feature of his heroines. He focuses more on the subtle feelings and emotions that makes them human. 

For the first time women are not treated as mere ‘objects’ or fragile creatures who need protection but portrayed to be equal to men. 

In Tagore’s short story ‘Thakurda’, the female character Kusum only has one dialogue but that single line leaves a deep impact on the readers. 

Overwhelmed by her anger and grief, she questioned the narrator why he had deceived her grandfather. In an era where women had no say in the society, this was a rebellious act indeed! How could a mere girl raise her voice at a man who was highly educated and held a respectable position in the society? 

In that age, even if women were hurt by the words or action of others, they were expected to endure their anguish in silence, however, Kusum showed no hesitation while clearly expressing how badly she was hurt at the narrator’s action. 

Earlier the narrator had considered her to be equivalent to 'an object' who was to be claimed by a man (her groom) but this incidence brought to his notice that Kusum was as much of a human as he was, whose heart ached at her grandfather’s humiliation but who also acted like a child and rejoiced in his enthusiasm so as to protect him from the bitter truth and the pain that would follow.

The narrator was amazed to see how that mere child assumed the role of a protective mother and he also realized that the worth of a living breathing woman with a kind and sympathetic heart, cannot be judged by her looks or the dowry she brings along with her.

Probably no male author has ever perceived and portrayed the thoughts and emotions of women more accurately than Tagore. Maybe that is why the heart-rending tale of the anonymous Iranian slave girl in 'Khudhito Pashan’ leaves an indelible mark on the minds of the readers. 

Perhaps that is also the reason why the sentiments and protest against societal oppression of women that was expressed in ‘Strir Patra’ in 1914 has again been echoed in the words of a female author Ashapurna Devi in her books Pratham Pratishruti and Subarnalata which were published much later, in 1964 and 1967 respectively.

Tagore’s words sound like ominous clouds of an incoming break in norms. It lies in how Charulata grieves her identity, her desires, and breaks down into a ‘shameful’ mourning for all she could have been.

It is interesting to note that as one matures with time, their perception of Tagore’s female characters also changes. 

While reading ‘Konkal’ the 15-year-old me felt that it was a justified act when the female lead poisoned Shashishekhar after his betrayal however, the 20-year-old me understood that it was not his betrayal but his negligence that hurt her sentiments. 

She did not kill him because he was marrying someone else but because he did not have the courage to tell her the truth after playing with her emotions.

“To err is human;” maybe that is why Chokher Bali's Binodini is no goddess, but a human, filled with mistakes and miscalculations. Some see her as a "hopeless widow" while others as a "temptress", but at the end of the day she was a woman first, who was shackled by the norms of patriarchy, and forbidden to freely express or act upon her desires.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Binodini in the film
'Chokher Bali' directed by Rituparno Ghosh

Here lies the mastery of Tagore, as he has not merely created characters but human beings with normative patterns of emotions and ambitions, who long for their voices to be heard.