“Breaking the Shackles” in Rajmohan’s Wife

The period when Rajmohan’s Wife was written by Bankinchandra

Chatterjee, India was under the British rule and thus, was yet to gain
independence. This is the first novel in English by an Indian and also
happens to be the author’s debut novel.
The setting of the novel is in the time period when the people of India
were undergoing a change in their thought processes. Some tried to hold
on to their age-old beliefs while others tried to indoctrinate the modern
ideas into their lives. And the author has chosen Matangini, Rajmohan’s
wife to be the torchbearer of this changing attitude towards life.
In the very beginning of the novel, we see Matangini going to fetch water
from the Madhumati river with her companion. Though Matangini
belonged to a zamindar family where there was a rule that women
shouldn’t get out of their homes in the absence of any male member’s
company, she still did go out and thus transgressed. Later we see that
after learning about the plot of usurping Madhav’s property, she leaves
for his house in the late night all my herself. The path she was to go
through was a deep forest and it was no less dangerous given that there
were wild animals out there and also the dacoits used to live there. It
surely was a very bold but a dangerous move by Matangini which could
have thrown her life into jeopardy. She was followed by a stranger out
there in the deep forest but her presence of mind saved her. Later we
come to know she was in no danger but was just followed by her
suspicious husband, Rajmohan.
What unravels at Mathur’s house shocks us. We come to know that she
and Mathur were in love with each other. They were unlucky enough that
they weren’t tied to each other; rather Madhav wedded her sister. But
the transgression was more than digestible as she openly confessed her
love for him. In those times, women weren’t allowed to fall in love but
rather they had to marry wherever their parents wished them to. Besides,
women weren’t allowed to express their opinions and talking about love
was a ‘taboo’ topic for women.
We see the braveness of Matangini when she escapes the jaws of death
as Rajmohan tries to murder her. She vanishes without trace and goes
straightaway into Mathur’s house and resides there. But little did she
know that Mathur too was associated with Rajmohan. On the pretext of
sending her to her husband, she was locked inside a hidden room.
In the end, she is rescued by Madhav and Tara but she couldn’t return to
her husband. She rather returns to her father (as a disgraced woman) to
live with him.
When we read the novel in the light of the modern context, the
transgression of Matangini is justified. She too being a human, has every
right to take independent actions and she doesn’t need to consult with
anybody as long as she maintains a crystal-clear conscience. And going
against her husband’s ill-will was the right action.
We see how strong and deep-rooted the patriarchal system was.
Rajmohan was a brute who didn’t flinch from beating the hell out of his
gentle wife, Matangini. And he believed in the masochistic principle. Even
the other women characters seemed to be like a timid cow (except Tara)
who had resigned to their fate.
And as far as Matangini’s return to her father is concerned, it was the
only way out since she couldn’t ever return to her bloodthirsty husband
who would kill her if he gets her. As far as being disgraced is concerned,
she didn’t do anything to be condemned thus. The actions taken by her
bore no ill-will but concern for the others. But given the time frame in
which the novel was written, it surely was the greatest transgression
which was a contemptible act on the part of a woman and was like a
punishable offence.
One should give full credit to the author for writing such a revolutionary
novel with a female being the heroine who is a huge transgressor as far as
the social norms of the society of the time period is concerned. And doing
such in the very debut novel, is an applaudable act.