Tagore places the two men at opposite ends of this spectrum, and while both ironically want the same thing, an independent, strong India, Nikhil wants to follow the law and exercise restraint, believing that something far greater is lost if one steals or is unjust, while Sandip is not above lying, violence, and other treachery, believing himself to be serving a higher cause, and believing that all other strong nations have had leaders who have done similar in the past.As to Swadeshi itself, Nikhil believes that the root cause to India’s dependence on foreign goods is its own demand, its own desire, which cannot forcibly changed, and any attempts to do so will not only be futile, but disproportionately harm the poor. When she’s exposed to a rousing revolutionary speech by Sandip, she’s not only drawn to the passion of his cause, but to Sandip himself, thus setting up a love triangle.In cases of a people being oppressed, there is often a variety of viewpoints as to how to react, ranging from the gradual progressives to those who would use “any means necessary”. At the center of the novel is Bimala, a young woman who is happily married to an intelligent and enlightened landowner named Nikhil. Tagore’s story is set in Bengal at the early part of the 20th century when the Swadeshi (self-sufficiency) movement was taking root, which had as its aim that people would use only domestic goods.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |