255. IDC 151- Subha- The Dumb Girl (8)
1. Discuss "Subha" as the story of alienation which led to social ostracism of the main character.
A:- Rabindranath Tagore was a master storyteller who skillfully explored various dimensions of human existence. His short story “Subha” delves into the complexities of human relationships and the devastating consequences of societal estrangement. This essay discusses the character of Subhashini and argues that the protagonist’s alienation led to her social ostracism.
The name foreshadows her tragedy-
Subhashini was the youngest of three daughters. Her sisters were named Sukeshini, meaning a woman with long and beautiful hair. The other was named Suhasini, which meant one with a beautiful smile. Both of them had been successfully married off by the family. Subsequently, the name ‘Subhashini’ meant the individual who could speak eloquently. However, ironically it represented her inability to speak, “When the girl was given the name of Subhashini, who could have guessed that she would prove dumb?” Tagore uses the name to metaphorically foreshadow her tragic circumstances.
Subhashini’s alienation due to her impairment-
It is seen that the unmarried Subhashini “lay like a silent weight upon the heart of her parents”. Society was under the false impression that since she “did not speak”, she “did not feel”. Everyone anxiously discussed her bleak future before her without realising that it hurt her sentiments. She felt like a curse had fallen on her family, and therefore she “withdrew herself from ordinary people and tried to live apart”. She was further alienated from her family as her mother believed her to be an intimate part of herself. Therefore, she considered Subha’s disability a “fault in her”, which was a “source of personal shame”.
The other children were afraid of her and did not play with her due to her ‘noontide’ like silence. Consequently, she found solace in the lap of nature. Whenever her work was done, she went and sat by the riverside. She listened to “The murmur of the brook…the songs of the boatmen, the crying of the birds and the rustle of trees” and felt a deep bond of connection with her surroundings. Two cows, named Sarbbashi and Panguli, were her closest friends. Both Subha and her animals understood each other. They were a source of comfort whenever she was sad. Thus, nature became her companion, providing her with the comfort and companionship she longed for from her peers.
Alienation led to Subha’s social ostracism-
Subha’s unmarried status ignited apprehension and gossip among the villagers, who threatened to socially outcast Banikantha and his family, “People blamed them, and even talked of making them outcasts”. The mere possibility of a tarnished reputation led to a rift in the family. Banikantha decided to go to Calcutta and find a suitable match for his daughter. This isolated Subha from her friends, as she had to leave her cows, kittens and only friend, Pratap. Furthermore, her lack of agency in decision-making regarding her marriage accentuated her alienation, as her household concealed her physical impairment to secure a suitable match.
When the suitors came, her mother, driven by societal expectations, dressed her up in a way that concealed her natural beauty. Despite Subha’s tears, her mother remained unsympathetic, fearing swollen eyes that could expose the bride’s distress. This highlights the internal conflict faced by her. Subha is forced to suppress her emotions and conform to societal norms, further exacerbating her sense of alienation.
Subhashini’s parents anxiously awaited the bridegroom’s verdict, while he ruminated about his marriage. Unbeknownst to the groom, she could not speak, leaving her feeling isolated and misunderstood. Although her eyes conveyed her feelings, they went unnoticed and uninterpreted by those around her. Subha’s silence and the subsequent revelation of her inability to speak only heightened her imminent social ostracisation by her in-laws. All of this deepened her emotional suffering.
Hence, one sees that In Tagore’s story, Subha’s family alienates her and forcefully marries her to an unknown person. When her in-laws come to know about her disability, they ostracise her. Her character serves as a poignant representation of the struggles faced by individuals with disabilities. As readers delve into the depths of her story, they are compelled to reflect on their role in fostering an inclusive and compassionate society.
2. Give the summary of the story.
A:- In "Subha" by Rabindranath Tagore we have the theme of fear, isolation, loneliness, connection, selfishness, innocence, tradition and control. Taken from his Collected Stories, the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Tagore may be exploring the theme of fear. Subha’s parents don’t really know what to do with Subha. Her mother looks upon her with scorn while her father knows that it will be difficult to find Subha a husband because of the fact that she is dumb. If anything both parents are afraid and rather than embracing Subha’s uniqueness is the worry about her future. It is as though Subha is a burden to her parents. Something that Subha herself understands. Subha also lives a very isolated life. Apart from Pratap she has no other human friends. All her friends are
the animals that her father owns particularly the two cows. This may be important as Tagore may be suggesting that Subha identifies with the cows because they too are dumb. It is also interesting that the only affection that Subha receives is not from any
of her family but from the two cows. Along with Nature they are her connection to her
emotions. It might also be a case that Tagore is suggesting that Subha’s parents are selfish. Though they are following tradition and marrying Subha off to a total stranger. There is no sense that Subha is in agreement. She is doing as she is told to do not what she wants to do. It is also interesting that while Subha’s mother is getting Subha ready for her bridegroom that Tagore uses words like ‘imprisoned’, ‘hung’ and ‘kill.’ It is as though Subha knows that the world she wants to live back in the village is over. Her life is to change dramatically again without her consent. Which might be the point that
Tagore is making. He may be suggesting that the tradition of marrying of daughters to complete strangers and providing the stranger with a dowry is not suitable to everyone. Subha’s life is to change dramatically. From living an innocent and simple life she has been thrown into a complicated world in which she has no way of expressing her feelings. Apart from crying, which Subha’s bridegroom misinterprets. If anything Subha’s parents are not acting responsibly and are following a tradition that they are
afraid to go against. In case they themselves become outcasts like Subha.
What is also interesting about the story is the feelings that Subha has for Pratap. She obviously likes him and there is a sense that she would be happy to marry Pratap rather than being brought to Calcutta where she is to marry a complete stranger. However Pratap is as much an outcast as Subha is and as such Subha’s father does not consider him to be a suitable bridegroom for Subha. It is as though Subha’s whole life is being controlled by her father and mother. She has no say in any matter that directly involves her. Even her tears do not register as sadness with her parents which would play on the theme of selfishness again. Despite being obvious that Subha is sad because she
is marrying a stranger who she does not love. Her parents do not take Subha’s feelings into consideration. Subha is not being treated as the individual she is. She has become aproblem for her parents and as such they consider that the best thing to do is to marry Subha off. The end of the story is also interesting as Tagore appears to be further exploring the theme of isolation. Not only has Subha been taken away from her village but she is to live her life with not only a man she does not know but also she is to live in a city in whereby she knows no one. It is as though the pain the Subha feels is even more internalized. Not only can she not tell anyone she is sad but she will know no one after she has been married off. If Subha felt isolated by her inability to communicate with others while living in her village things will be much worse for her living with a strange
man in a strange city. Life is going to be more complicated for Subha. Any happiness that she had felt while living in her village is gone due to the fact that her parents are following a tradition of marrying Subha off in order that they themselves will not be viewed as outcasts. At no stage in the story has Subha’s feelings been put to the forefront by her parents. Though Subha cannot talk, her tears speak louder than words yet her parents do not realise this. A young innocent girl who longs for the simple things in life has had her life destroyed because of her parent’s fears and selfishness.
3. Critically asses the story.
A:- Rabindranath Tagore's "Subha" is the chief character in the story. Her full name was Subhashini, shortened to Subha and she was dumb. Her two elder sisters were Sukeshini and Suhasini, and for the sake of uniformity her father named his youngest girl Subhashini. Her two elder sisters had been married with the usual cost and difficulty, and now the youngest daughter lay like a silent weight upon the heart of her parents. All the world seemed to think that, because she did not speak, therefore she did not feel; it discussed her future and its own anxiety freely in her presence. She had understood from her earliest childhood that God had sent her like a curse to her father's house, so she withdrew herself from ordinary people and tried to live apart. If only they would all forget her she felt she could endure it. Night and day her parents' minds were aching on her account. Especially her mother looked upon her as a deformity in herself. To a mother a daughter is a more closely intimate part of herself than a son can be; and a fault in her is a source of personal shame. Banikantha, Subha's father, loved her rather better than his other daughters; her mother regarded her with aversion as a stain upon her own body. If Subha lacked speech, she did not lack a pair of large dark eyes, shaded with long lashes; and her lips trembled like a leaf in response to any thought that rose in her mind.
When we express our thought in words, the medium is not found easily. There must be a process of translation, which is often inexact, and then we fall into error. But black eyes need no translating; the mind itself throws a shadow upon them. In them thought opens or shuts, shines forth or goes out in darkness, hangs steadfast like the setting moon or like the swift and restless lightning illumines all quarters of the sky. They who from birth have had no other speech than the trembling of their lips learn a language of the eyes, endless in expression, deep as the sea, clear as the heavens, wherein play dawn and sunset, light and shadow. The dumb have a lonely grandeur like Nature's own. Wherefore the other children almost dreaded Subha and never played with her. She was silent and companionless as noontide. The hamlet where she lived was Chandipur. Its river, small for a river of Bengal, kept to its narrow bounds like a daughter of the middle class. This busy streak of water never overflowed its banks, but went about its duties as though it were a member of every family in the villages beside it. On either side were houses and banks shaded with trees. So stepping from her queenly throne, the river-goddess became a garden deity of each home, and forgetful of herself performed her task of endless benediction with swift and cheerful foot.
Banikantha's house looked out upon the stream. Every hut and stack in the place could be seen by the passing boatmen. I know not if amid these signs of worldly wealth any one noticed the little girl who, when her work was done, stole away to the waterside and sat there. But here Nature fulfilled her want of speech and spoke for her. The murmur of the brook, the voice of the village folk, the songs of the boatmen, the crying of the birds and rustle of trees mingled and were one with the trembling of her heart. They became one vast wave of sound which beat upon her restless soul. This murmur and movement of Nature were the dumb girl's language; that speech of the dark eyes, which the long lashes shaded, was the language of the world about her. From the trees, where the birds chirped, to the quiet stars there was nothing but signs and gestures, weeping and sighing. And in the deep mid-noon, when the boatmen and fisher-folk had gone to their dinner, when the villagers slept and birds were still, when the ferry-boats were idle, when the great busy world paused in its toil and became suddenly a lonely, awful giant, then beneath the vast impressive heavens there were only dumb Nature and a dumb girl, sitting very silent,—one under the spreading sunlight, the other where a small tree cast its shadow.
But Subha was not altogether without friends. In the stall were two cows, Sarbbashi and Panguli. They had never heard their names from her lips, but they knew her footfall. Though she had no words, she murmured lovingly and they understood her gentle murmuring better than all speech. When she fondled them or scolded or coaxed them, they understood her better than men could do. Subha would come to the shed and throw her arms round Sarbbashi's neck; she would rub her cheek against her friend's, and Panguli would turn her great kind eyes and lick her face. The girl paid them three regular visits every day and others that were irregular. Whenever she heard any words that hurt her, she would come to these dumb friends out of due time. It was as though they guessed her anguish of spirit from her quiet look of sadness. Coming close to her, they would rub their horns softly against her arms, and in dumb, puzzled fashion try to comfort her. Besides these two, there were goats and a kitten; but Subha had not the same equality of friendship with them, though they showed the same attachment. Every time it got a chance, night or day, the kitten would jump into her lap, and settle down to slumber, and show its appreciation of an aid to sleep as Subha drew her soft fingers over its neck and back. Subha had a comrade also among the higher animals, and it is hard to say what were the girl's relations with him; for he could speak, and his gift of speech left them without any common language. He was the youngest boy of the Gosains, Pratap by name, an idle fellow. After long effort, his parents had abandoned the hope that he would ever make his living. Now losels have this advantage, that, though their own folk disapprove of them, they are generally popular with every one else. Having no work to chain them, they become public property. Just as every town needs an open space where all may breathe, so a village needs two or three gentlemen of leisure, who can give time to all; then, if we are lazy and want a companion, one is to hand. Pratap's chief ambition was to catch fish. He managed to waste a lot of time this way, and might be seen almost any afternoon so employed. It was thus most often that he met Subha. Whatever he was about, he liked a companion; and, when one is catching fish, a silent companion is best of all. Pratap respected Subha for her taciturnity, and, as every one called her Subha, he showed his affection by calling her Su. Subha used to sit beneath a tamarind, and Pratap, a little distance off, would cast his line. Pratap took with him a small allowance of betel, and Subha prepared it for him. And I think that, sitting and gazing a long while, she desired ardently to bring some great help to Pratap, to be of real aid, to prove by any means that she was not a useless burden to the world. But there was nothing to do. Then she turned to the Creator in prayer for some rare power, that by an astonishing miracle she might startle Pratap into exclaiming: "My! I never dreamt our Su could have done this!"
Only think, if Subha had been a water nymph, she might have risen slowly from the river, bringing the gem of a snake's crown to the landing-place. Then Pratap, leaving his paltry fishing, might dive into the lower world, and see there, on a golden bed in a palace of silver, whom else but dumb little Su, Banikantha's child? Yes, our Su, the only daughter of the king of that shining city of jewels! But that might not be, it was impossible. Not that anything is really impossible, but Su had been born, not into the royal house of Patalpur, but into Banikantha's family, and she knew no means of astonishing the Gosains' boy.
Gradually she grew up. Gradually she began to find herself. A new inexpressible consciousness like a tide from the central places of the sea, when the moon is full, swept through her. She saw herself, questioned herself, but no answer came that she could understand. Once upon a time, late on a night of full moon, she slowly opened her door and peeped out timidly. Nature, herself at full moon, like lonely Subha, was looking down on the sleeping earth. Her strong young life beat within her; joy and sadness filled her being to its brim; she reached the limits even of her own illimitable loneliness, no, passed beyond them. Her heart was heavy, and she could not speak. At the skirts of this silent troubled mother there stood a silent troubled girl.
The thought of her marriage filled her parents with an anxious care. People blamed them, and even talked of making them outcasts. Banikantha was well off; they had fish-curry twice daily; and consequently he did not lack enemies. Then the women interfered, and Bani went away for a few days. Presently he returned and said: "We must go to Calcutta." They got ready to go to this strange country. Subha's heart was heavy with tears, like a mist-wrapt dawn. With a vague fear that had been gathering for days, she dogged her father and mother like a dumb animal. With her large eyes wide open, she scanned their faces as though she wished to learn something. But not a word did they vouchsafe. One afternoon in the midst of all this, as Pratap was fishing, he laughed: "So then, Su, they have caught your bridegroom, and you are going to be married! Mind you don't forget me altogether!" Then he turned his mind again to his fish. As a stricken doe looks in the hunter's face, asking in silent agony: "What have I done to you?" so Subha looked at Pratap. That day she sat no longer beneath her tree. Banikantha, having finished his nap, was smoking in his bedroom when Subha dropped down at his feet and burst out weeping as she gazed towards him. Banikantha tried to comfort her, and his cheek grew wet with tears. It was settled that on the morrow they should go to Calcutta. Subha went to the cow-shed to bid farewell to her childhood's comrades. She fed them with her hand; she clasped their necks; she looked into their faces, and tears fell fast from the eyes which spoke for her. That night was the tenth of the moon. Subha left her room, and flung herself down on her grassy couch beside her dear river. It was as if she threw her arms about Earth, her strong silent mother, and tried to say: "Do not let me leave you, mother. Put your arms about me, as I have put mine about you, and hold me fast." One day in a house in Calcutta, Subha's mother dressed her up with great care. She tied her hair, knotting it up in laces, she hung her about with ornaments, and did her best to kill her natural beauty. Subha's eyes filled with tears. Her mother, fearing they would grow swollen with weeping, scolded her harshly, but the tears disregarded the scolding. The bridegroom came with a friend to inspect the bride. Her parents were dizzy with anxiety and fear when they saw the god arrive to select the beast for his sacrifice. Behind the stage, the mother called her instructions aloud, and increased her daughter's weeping twofold, before she sent her into the examiner's presence. The great man, after scanning her for a long time, observed: "Not so bad." He took special note of her tears, and thought she must have a tender heart. He put it to her credit in the account, arguing that the heart, which to-day was distressed at leaving her parents, would presently prove a useful possession. Like the oyster's pearls, the child's tears only increased her value, and he made no other comment. The almanac or calendar was consulted, and the marriage took place on an auspicious day. Having delivered over their dumb girl into another's hands, Subha's parents returned home. Thankfully their caste in this and their safety in the next world were assured! The bridegroom's work lay in the west, and shortly after the marriage he took his wife thither.
In less than ten days every one knew that the bride was dumb! At least, if any one did not, it was not her fault, for she deceived no one. Her eyes told them everything, though no one understood her. She looked on every hand, she found no speech, she missed the faces, familiar from birth, of those who had understood a dumb girl's language.
4. What is the meaning of Subhasini?
A:- In “Subha,” the name of the central character was Subhashini, meaning well-spoken. Whereas, no one guessed she “would be dumb.
5. How did Subha communicate?
A:- Although Subha could not speak, she communicated with her “large dark eyes.” Spoken communication is “a process of translation”. Communication with the eyes is more pure and exact.
6. How was Subha close to animals and birds?
A:- Subha was particularly close with animals and nature, finding seamless connection and communication with them. She spent her days near the river in her village, Chandipur. Surrounded by “the cry of the birds and the rustle of trees,” she felt at peace. Subha’s only friends were a set of cows, Sarbbashi and Panguli. Subha and the cows could communicate without speech. She found particular comfort in the cows’ company.
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7. How does Subha communicate despite being mute?(1)
A:- Despite her inability to speak, Subha expresses herself through gestures, facial expressions, and body language.
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8. Why is Subha initially excluded from interaction with village children? (1)
A:- Subha is initially excluded from interaction with the village children primarily due to her inability to speak.