Indian Females’ Subjectivity and No Place in Punishment by Rabindranath Tagore

Abstract

The present study aims at exploring the different interpretations of short story Punishment under the light of deconstruction theory (Derrida, 1979), unveiling the marital conflicts and female subjectivity. Such conflicts can be traced in all socio-political structures and can be adjusted in different binary oppositions which are put forth by deconstructionists such as Ferdinand de Saussure and Jaques Derrida, ultimately leading to a reversal of the hierarchy of these structures. This deconstructive study also explores the social dynamics of life in a patriarchal society along with the evincing tensions ie the story by reversing the patriarchal patterns in which men are given prestigious positions whereas women are suppressive and subordinate. The study discusses how the characters of the story obey these patriarchal blueprints through the study of close accounts of the main characters i.e Chidam, who is aggressive and exploits his powerful position as, a man, and Chandra, who is weak, submissive, and has no place and rights in the society.