Assignment - 11

Assignment - 11 Nationalism and the Role of Women in 'The Home and the World'

Assignment Details:

Paper : 201: Indian English Literature – Pre-Independence

Topic :  Nationalism and the Role of Women in The Home and the World

Submitted to - Smt. S.B.Gardi Department of English M.K.B.U.

Date of Submission: 07/11/2025

Personal Information:

Name: Khushi Raviya

Batch: M.A. Sem - 3 (2024-2026)

Enrollment Number: 5108240029

Roll No: 10

Table of contents

• Assignment Details 

• Personal Information

• Abstract

• Key Words

• Introduction

• Historical Context

• Nationalism, the Home and the World

• Bimala’s Entry into the Nationalist Sphere

• Contrasting Visions of Nationalism Sandip vs. Nikhil

• Women and Symbolic Nationhood

• Bimala’s Re-assessment and Moral Agency

• Implications for Gender and Nationalism

• Conclusion

• References

Abstract:

This essay explores the dual themes of nationalism and the role of women in Rabindranath Tagore’s novel 'The Home and the World '(1916; Eng. Tr. 1921). Set in the era of the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, the novel offers a layered critique of militant nationalism and situates the figure of the woman at the heart of the political and moral drama. Through the character of Bimala, Tagore examines the complexities of domesticity, selfhood, and national duty, showing how the “home” and the “world” intersect in the formation of identity. The interplay of the male protagonists Nikhil and Sandip with Bimala reveals contrasting visions of nation-building, modernity, and tradition, while Tagore raises critical questions about the position of women in nationalist discourse. The essay argues that Tagore uses Bimala’s transformation to illustrate both the possibilities and the dangers of nationalist ideology when gendered expectations and domestic spaces become instruments of political mobilisation.

Key Words:

Nationalism · Swadeshi · Women in colonial India · Domesticity · Modernity · Tagore · Bimala · Bengal renaissance · Home/world binary

Introduction:

At the turn of the twentieth century, Bengal was at the epicentre of nationalist ferment in British India. The Partition of Bengal (1905) and the ensuing Swadeshi movement ignited debates over Indian identity, self-rule, and the role of Indians in shaping their own future. It is in this charged historical moment that Tagore published his novel The Home and the World (original Bengali Ghare Baire, 1916) translated into English in 1921 by Surendranath Tagore. The novel situates its action in a provincial setting in Bengal, yet its concerns are world-wide: how nationalism may entangle with private life, how women may be drawn into public political space, and how notions of home and world become symbolic of competing values. Tagore’s portrayal of nationalism is ambivalent: he shows the fervour and moral energy of the Swadeshi cause but also its potential for coercion and moral compromise. At the same time, the novel raises important questions about the role of women in the nationalist project: what is their place in the home, in the nation, in the transformation of society? This essay will examine how Tagore constructs the role of the woman (principally through the character of Bimala) in relation to nationalist ideology, and how the novel engages with the contradictions of nationalism and domesticity. In what follows, I first outline the nationalist context and the binary of home versus world, then explore how Bimala is drawn into the nationalist arena, analyse the interplay of male protagonists and the visions of nation they represent, and finally consider how Tagore critiques the feminist and nationalist discourse of his time through Bimala’s journey.

Historical Context

The Swadeshi movement (1905–1908) arose as a protest against the British Partition of Bengal, urging Indians to boycott British goods and promote indigenous industry. It brought unprecedented numbers of middle-class women into public life, albeit within symbolic and limited roles. Women were celebrated as “mothers of the nation,” spiritual guardians whose virtue mirrored India’s purity. Yet, as feminist historians note, this elevation often translated into confinement within moral and domestic imagery. Tagore himself had been active in Swadeshi circles but later distanced himself, warning against blind fanaticism. The Home and the World thus reflects the paradox of Tagore’s own engagement his admiration for national awakening and his fear of moral disintegration through violent nationalism.

Nationalism, the Home and the World:

In The Home and the World, Tagore uses the title itself to present a central tension: the “home” (ghare) symbolises the domestic, the familiar, the moral sphere; the “world” (baire) stands for the public, the political, the external realm. The two are not separate but overlapping the novel asks how the domestic sphere may be transformed by political ideology, and conversely how political action depends on emotional and moral foundations. R. Chaudhuri observes that the novel “investigates the roles of daughter, wife and mother as they were conceived in nineteenth-century Bengal,” reflecting the era’s gender segmentation. To draw the nationalist cause into the home is to implicate women, even if indirectly, in public life. Yet Tagore warns of a nationalism that elevates service to the “world” above moral anchorage in the “home.”

a. The home as ethical space: Nikhil’s household, governed by reason and compassion, embodies Tagore’s ideal of moral nationalism.

b. The world as arena of chaos: Sandip’s politics, rooted in passion and manipulation, represents a distortion of patriotic feeling.

c. The woman as mediator: Bimala stands between these spheres; her movement outward signifies both personal awakening and moral danger.

Through this symbolic interplay, Tagore critiques militant nationalism even while acknowledging its allure.

Bimala’s Entry into the Nationalist Sphere:

Bimala begins the narrative firmly enclosed within the domestic sphere: as Nikhil’s devoted wife, her world is confined to household duties and rituals of wifely devotion. Her husband, influenced by liberal reformist ideals, encourages her to step beyond the zenana and meet his friend Sandip. This act her first entry into the “world” becomes the catalyst for transformation. M. M. Lago remarks that Tagore’s fictional women “struggle toward liberation of the mind even while remaining bound in the role of housewife”. Bimala’s struggle is emblematic: she yearns to transcend domesticity, to participate in the Swadeshi movement and contribute to national regeneration. Yet her liberation soon turns ambivalent.

a. Empowerment through participation: Bimala experiences excitement and purpose in joining Sandip’s political meetings and rejecting foreign goods.

b. Seduction of ideology: Sandip’s flattery, equating her with the “Motherland,” manipulates her emotions and erodes her moral clarity.

c. The cost of awakening: As Bimala’s world expands, she feels alienated from Nikhil’s ethical calm, losing both her innocence and spiritual balance.

Tagore portrays Bimala’s journey as a cautionary tale: empowerment untempered by discernment can turn into moral captivity.

Contrasting Visions of Nationalism Sandip vs. Nikhil:

The ideological tension in the novel is mirrored by its two male figures Sandip, the fiery Swadeshi leader, and Nikhil, the introspective humanitarian. Sandip represents passion, aggression, and political expediency; Nikhil stands for rational moral order. R. S. Rajan, in Modern Fiction Studies, writes that “the consciousness and politics of feminism and nationalism intersect in the contest between Sandip and Nikhil for Bimala’s allegiance.” Sandip’s charisma pulls Bimala outward into the world, while Nikhil’s integrity calls her back to inner truth.

a. Sandip’s manipulative nationalism: He mobilises gendered rhetoric portraying Bimala as divine embodiment of the nation to legitimise his political dominance.

b. Nikhil’s moral universalism: He rejects coercion, asserting that true freedom requires inner discipline: “Freedom without truth is bondage.”

c. The woman as ideological field: Bimala becomes the site where these conflicting visions of nationalism passionate versus principled collide.

Through their opposition, Tagore dramatizes his conviction that nationalism without ethical foundation degenerates into moral tyranny.

Women and Symbolic Nationhood:

Women in nationalist discourse often bear symbolic weight: they stand for the nation, the motherland, or sacrifice itself. In The Home and the World, Bimala is constructed as the allegorical India her purity, devotion, and beauty becoming stand-ins for national virtue. The anthology En-Gendering India: Woman and Nation in Colonial and Postcolonial Narratives notes that Tagore’s novel “rehearses the trope of woman as ‘Nation’ and a Nation of Women.”

a. Symbolic elevation vs. material exclusion: Bimala’s idealisation as Bharat Mata obscures her lack of political agency; she is revered yet voiceless.

b. Appropriation of the feminine: Sandip’s movement exploits Bimala’s moral authority to sanctify violent politics, turning femininity into propaganda.

c. Tagore’s critique: By tracing Bimala’s disillusionment, Tagore exposes the fragility of using women as moral metaphors for the nation.

Thus, Tagore dismantles the patriarchal tendency of nationalist rhetoric that celebrates women as symbols while denying their individuality.

Bimala’s Re-assessment and Moral Agency:

By the novel’s end, Bimala undergoes a profound transformation. Disillusioned by Sandip’s opportunism and the Swadeshi movement’s corruption, she returns to the moral stability embodied by Nikhil. Her journey is one from emotional excess to self-knowledge. P. C. Hogan calls this “the education of Bimala,” her movement from blind devotion to ethical awakening (Colonialism and Cultural Identity, 2000). Through remorse and reflection, she reclaims her sense of self.

a. Moral re-education: Bimala realises that nationalism without compassion breeds cruelty, not liberation.

b. Return to conscience: Her rediscovery of domestic harmony signifies not regression but moral maturity.

c. Redefining freedom: For Tagore, genuine liberation whether of a woman or a nation emerges from self-control and truth, not political frenzy.

Bimala’s re-assessment reaffirms Tagore’s belief in moral nationalism, rooted in humanity rather than ideology.

Implications for Gender and Nationalism:

The interplay of nationalism and gender in The Home and the World carries implications far beyond its colonial setting. Tagore anticipates later feminist critiques of how patriarchal structures appropriate women’s emotions and labour for political ends.

a. Nationalism’s gendered rhetoric: The glorification of Bharat Mata turns women into sacred symbols, reinforcing rather than dismantling patriarchy.

b. Domestic space as political space: Tagore elevates the home from private to ethical sphere, suggesting that moral renewal begins in interpersonal relations.

c. Enduring relevance: Modern debates on women’s political participation and cultural representation continue to echo Tagore’s vision.

Tagore’s novel thus stands as an early feminist and humanist intervention in the discourse of Indian nationalism.

Conclusion:

In The Home and the World, Rabindranath Tagore crafts a nuanced narrative that interrogates both the power and peril of nationalism. Through the intertwined journeys of Bimala, Nikhil, and Sandip, he exposes how political ideology can invade the sanctity of domestic life and how the woman, cast as both symbol and subject, becomes the arena where these forces converge. While nationalist movements promised liberation, Tagore warns against their tendency to re-enslave through passion and symbolism. Bimala’s movement from the home into the world and back again embodies India’s own quest for freedom balanced with conscience. Her final return is not submission but enlightenment; she has learned that true independence, whether of self or nation, rests on moral integrity rather than militant zeal.

Ultimately, Tagore transforms the political narrative into a universal moral fable, suggesting that the harmony of home and world, of woman and nation, must rest upon mutual respect, reason, and truth. His vision remains profoundly relevant to contemporary discussions of gender, nationalism, and ethical modernity.

References:

- Chaudhuri, Rosinka. “Tagore’s Home and the World.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 43, no. 50, 2008, pp. 23–25. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40278286. Accessed 20 Oct.

2025.

- En-Gendering India: Woman and Nation in Colonial and Postcolonial Narratives. Routledge, 2002.

- Hogan, P. C. Colonialism and Cultural Identity: Crises of Tradition in the Anglophone Literatures of India, Africa, and the Caribbean. State University of New York Press, 2000.

- Hogan, Patrick. “HISTORICAL ECONOMIES OF RACE AND GENDER IN BENGAL: RAY AND TAGORE ON THE HOME AND THE WORLD.” Journal of South Asian Literature, vol. 28, no. 1/2, 1993, pp. 23–43. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40873302. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

- Lago, M. M. “Tagore’s Liberated Women.” Asian Studies Review, vol. 1, no. 4, 1977, pp. 388–407. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40872159. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

- Tagore, Rabindranath. The Home and the World. Trans. Surendranath Tagore, Macmillan, 1921.

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