Tagore’s Advocacy of Women’s Cause in ‘Streer Patra’
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https://doi.org/10.56062/Keywords:
Patriarchy, subordination, confinement, woman’s cause, emancipation.Abstract
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was a liberal humanist who wanted a new social order where women are not bound by shackles of patriarchy. Born into a progressive family, he had observed closely the stifling condition of 19th-century Bengal. His creativity captured the multifaceted torture on women in a conservative socio-cultural milieu. This paper is an exploration of Tagore’s advocacy of women’s cause in ‘Streer Patra’, the feminist perspective reflected in Tagore’s ‘Streer Patra’, analyze the concept of emancipation of women in 19th century Bengal and discuss the struggle of a woman to achieve emancipation from confinement. The issues of child marriage, forced arranged marriage, poor condition of childbirth room, subordination of women, and women’s helplessness in a joint family are all vehemently criticized with poignancy and insight. A woman would better embrace death like Bindu in ‘Streer Patra’ than live a life of ignominy and disgrace. Death is here symbolic of redemption from worldly cares and suffering. He also advocates another escape route of breaking the shackles of traditional roles of a woman to emerge victorious, just as Mrinal is emancipated in the story.
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