Assignment : 1

Name : Asari Bhavyang .M 

Roll no :-3

Enrollment No:-3069206420200002

Course:-M.A (English)Sem2

Subject:-Indian English Literature – Pre-Independence

Topic:-Write a critical note on The Home and The World ?

Teacher Name:- Dilip Barad sir 

Batch :- 2021-2023

Email:- asaribhavyang7874@gmail.com

Department:- Department of English

Rabindranath Tagore:-

 Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 and died on 7 August 1941. He was a poet and writer. He was Bengali and we can see most of his work published in the Bengali language. Then he started writing in the English Language. He also won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He has work in Drama, Short Stories, Novel, and Poetry, Etc..... 

The Home and The World: Rabindranath Tagore:-

The Home And The World is the love triangle being portrayed would be fascinating in any context. By framing the happenings between Nikhil, Bimala, and Sandip with the background of the Swadeshi movement, the story takes on a new identity. simply woman questioning her marriage and role in society. Bimala's struggle is a reflection of Bengal's struggle.

This connection is not hidden behind complicated language, it's basically laid out for the reader. With Sandip's affirmation that Bimala is just the kind of symbol that the Swadeshi movement needs he is not just saying that Bimala and the movement are a good fit for each other he is saying that they are one and the same. Bimala is torn between two men. As the push to remove British goods from Bengal intensifies, Bimala's distance from Nikhil increases. This creates concurrent narratives that both run parallel to each other and occasionally interact in significant ways. A society's struggle for autonomy and a conflicted woman's soul searching share the stage together, with Sandip often playing the role of the puppeteer. It turns a love triangle into something much more significant.

The Home And The World toys with storytelling structure while still maintaining a fairly intimate narrative. Certainly the Bimala, Nikhil, and Sandip dynamic is what's at the forefront of the action, but the Swadeshi movement plays an equally important role and its connections to Bimala's own struggle are not to be underestimated.

Although the story focuses on the dynamic of a marriage—which shifts when a shadowy outsider enters the lives of the couple—much of the novel reads like a philosophical treatise. There are shifting viewpoints between the characters Bimala, Nikhil, and Sandip, and much of the book comprises their internal and external dialogues as they consider serious issues such as tradition, the roles of men and women in Indian culture, the nature of political change, the occasional need for violence in political activism, and other rhetorical exercises such as the weighing of the public good.

As the novel begins, Bimala is happy with her life. She has married a good, kind man who is educated and generous. She is content to worship him and accept his support in all things. What she does not feel, however, is excitement. When the political firebrand Sandip begins making speeches in their village, she is infatuated by his words, but also stirred by some of his political ideas. She thinks of him constantly. Sandip, who is only interested in pursuing his own desires and climbing the social strata, does nothing to discourage her interest in him.

Her husband, Nikhil, sees what is happening, but is unwilling to intervene. Nikhil believes that, if one is committed to living morally and thoughtfully, one can accept whatever arises. He is sad that he feels like a burden to Bimala, but is determined to let her make her own choices.

Bimala’s choices lead her to steal from Nikhil to raise money for Sandip’s cause, money that he keeps for himself. Overcome with shame at how she has allowed a man who now disgusts her to cause such havoc in her life, Bimala must try to save her marriage, support her country, and recommit herself to living by her conscience, not her passions. As village unrest turns to outbursts of violence, the characters are all changed by the decisions they must make.

Published in 1916, The Home and the World is a critically celebrated work with themes that its author knows intimately. The novel is a striking example of the power of art to edify or destroy causes, relationships, and possibly an entire country.

 The Home and the World is first-person Narrators. The narrators are only able to access their own thoughts and feelings. While narrators are able to report all events and conversations that they witness but they are unable to convey the thoughts and emotions of the other characters in the novel. This style of narration is important to the plot of the story. In this novel dialogue is equal. A good portion of the narrative is to the interaction between the characters while they remain focused on describing events and each narrator's personal reflections.

 It is difficult to decide the correct title for a novel.  One can assume the title is a comparison,  contrast between the society of one’s own, and the one outside, a theme that carries throughout the book, through the characterization of two of the male protagonists, symbolic in several ways.

The narration begins with Bimala, in a first-person manner, and then the three characters as the story progresses. The first-person narrative magnifies the impact of a character on the reader, that is, people generally familiarize themselves with the character in the first person, and can relate better to it. This particular feature in writing has been capitalized on greatly by  Tagore The character’s development eventually leads the reader to be engrossed in the story, with different narratives highlighting the differences in the basic thought process of the three main characters of the story. The plot is simple. The two characters, Nikhil and Sandip, share a common love interest, Bimala. Married to Nikhil, Bimala is a simple, familial person, whose entire life revolves around Home, her husband Nikhil, and her household responsibilities. Nikhil is a simple person.  hardworking, he is successful in his business, being the owner of several estates. He holds no biases against anyone and he respects and honors people from all societal strata. Sandip is probably the best-developed character in the novel.  he could be taken to be the actual opposite of what Nikhil’s personality is like. He believes that the means to achieve something may be immoral and deceitful as long as they justify the outcome. 

The story develops slowly and steadily through dialogue between the characters, and Tagore has punctuated the narrative with philosophical sub currents, which are immensely thought-provoking. You will see throughout the plot, pause and reflect on Tagore’s writing.

The philosophical debates between Sandip and Nikhil on the variety of issues range.  Bimala’s stance on her confusion between the two is also admirable. She in some arguments sides with Sandip, because of his radical, more progressive attitude towards every issue, and accuses Nikhil and the national affairs and the state of the nation seem more important to her than her marriage, and her life. Her mind changes when she sees Nikhil as her lover, as her caring husband.

The novel is having an interesting love triangle. It  Interspersed with allegorical references, intelligent metaphors, beautiful imagery, the narrative would appeal to anyone with a heart for logic. The arguments in the narrative are beautifully written.

The character development is something that would validate Tagore’s writing skills. The three primary characters are so different. Apart from this intricate love relationship between the three, the novel also brings out the national situation at the time, through Nikhil’s character. Tagore brings out the Nationalist movement, with several incidents in the story, which highlight the injustice to the common man. Communal violence, oppression by the rich, refusal of foreign goods, and the intermingling of religion and politics are some of the other issues Tagore has conveyed intelligently through this character.

As I mentioned before, the title of the book forms the essence and is visible throughout. The contrast between the ideologies of Nikhil and Sandip forms the spine of the book – and how Bimala is caught queerly in their midst. She does, however, return to ‘Home’ in the end, after she realizes how Nikhil is the one who truly loves her, and just wants to see her happy, even if he would have to let her go if that is what it would take.

 The language, the characterization, and the narrative are things one would enjoy. The book might not be a thriller, but it is definitely something that would get you thinking.

The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore is an Indian politics in the early twentieth century. As a means of encouraging his wife, Bimala, to emerge into the outer world, Nikhil introduces her to Sandip, an active leader in the Swadeshi movement. Bimala soon becomes the revolutionary fervor of Swadeshi and finds herself torn between the duties of home and the world. The Home and the World is a tragic example of the conflict between realism and idealism.

Though Nikhil and Bimala enjoy a  marriage, Nikhil wants her to enter the outer world, believing their love is true only if they recognize one another in the outer world. When Bimala attends a Swadeshi rally led by Sandip Babu, she insists he visit Nikhil's estate. Bimala and Sandip are attracted to one another, so Sandip decides to make his headquarters at the estate.

Bimala was connected with the Swadeshi movement because of her desire to work with Sandip. Sandip is obviously interested in Bimala, and she begins to question her marriage to Nikhil because Sandip represents everything she wants in a man. At Sandip's request, Bimala steals 6000 rupees from Nikhil's safe for the Cause, but Sandip's behavior makes her feel torn as though she is two people, one who is appalled by Sandip and one who is attracted to him.

Though Nikhil is distraught at losing Bimala, he grants her the freedom to choose her own life. Guilt-ridden about her theft, Bimala sends Amulya, a young disciple of Sandip's, to sell her jewels so she can replace the 6000 rupees, but instead, Amulya steals the money from Nikhil's treasury. Nikhil forgives Bimala's deceit, causing her to realize her husband is the one who truly loves her. When there is a Swadeshi riot in Bengal, Sandip flees the city while Nikhil goes into town to try to calm matters. Nikhil is shot in the head, and Amulya is killed by a bullet through his heart.