Alea Grasha M.

Masiglat
10 – Assumption of Mary

Mahamaya
By: Rabindranath Tagore

A. Formalistic Analysis
Characters
Mahamaya – a 24-year-old maiden that belongs from a prestige family, whom was
wedded to an old and sick man who passed away the day after their marriage
ceremony.
Rajeevlochan – an orphan and childhood friend of Mahamaya. After his biological
father passed away, he has been taken into care by an Englishman and brought him
along to the village.
Bhavanicharan – Brother of Mahamaya whom is described to be fearful and
intimidating; as well as having a strong resemblance to her sister.
Setting
The 1st chapter of the story took place in a ruined temple by the edge of the river.
In the following chapter, the setting took place at a cemetery near the river, which
then followed to Rajeev’s house in the village. Into the final chapter, the setting
can be seen at the place where Mahamaya was supposed to be burned alive, which
after she can be found with Rajeev at a new house after escaping.
Plot/Summary
The story starts with a young unmarried woman whom was invited by her long
childhood friend, Rajeevlochan, to a ruined temple near the edge of the river. Rajeev
was in love with Mahamaya, to such extent that he had plans to ask her hand for
marriage. In the temple, Rajeev hastily asked Mahayama for her hand in marriage.
Mahamaya declined his offer and prepared to leave the temple. Rajeev, who was
stunned and heartbroken, was under the impression that they truly cannot be wedded
because of the difference in their social status. When they were about to go their
separate ways, Mahamaya shooted her shot at the last minute and asked Rajeev if he
was willing to wait for her. That same evening, Bravanicharan settled an arranged
marriage for her sister to an old sickly man who is already at death’s door.
 The next day after the wedding ceremony, Mahamaya’s husband died and
immediately became a widow. As per tradition, Mahamaya was supposed to be
burned alive on her husband’s funeral pyre, however it didn’t happen because of the
massive rainfall poured upon the place allowing her to escape. She headed straight
to their house first and looked at the face where she was burned. She put on a veil
and headed straight to Rajeev’s house to let him know that she has now returned and
was willing to become his wife on one condition. The condition is to never open the
veil; otherwise she would not become his wife anymore.
After that, they escaped to a new house and lived together, however they were
unhappy. The veil has caused an invisible barrier between them that slowly
destroyed their feelings for one another. One night when the moon was shining at its
brightest, Rajeev took a peak at her face and was horrified at the unfamiliar face of
the supposed woman that she loves. Mahamaya woke up alarmed and saw how
Rajeev was looking directly at her face, which then caused her to leave. Mahamaya
bolted away and never came back, in which left a scar at Rajeev’s heart.
Theme:
Love
The short story focused on the prohibited love between Rajeev and Mahamaya.
Rajeev loved Mahamaya, but they couldn’t love each other freely because of the
traditions and difference of their social status. The story also gave light to how love
is built on trust and transparency, which was something Rajeev and Mahamaya
failed to understand.
Traditions
The tradition presented within the story is something people do for a long time
already. No matter how cruel and ludicrous a tradition might be in one’s culture, it
remains being practiced by the people as a form of respect.
Moral:
Always understand that change is constant and that promises are meant to be kept,
not broken.
Conflict:
Mahamaya and Rajeev started to be distant from each other, which was said to be
caused by the veil. Beyond this idea is where Mahamaya refuses to be honest and
reveal her face to Rajeev, which is one the main conflicts in the story.

B. Analysis of Story using literary theory

Selected literary theory: Formalism Approach
Mahamaya is a short story consisting of 3 sections. The story is narrated in an
omniscient point of view, that allows readers to have a full scope of the things
happening in the story. With the help of the 3rd person point of view, the author had
more freedom to write the story in an unbiased manner. With this, it gave justice to
the personality, feelings and thought process of each character in the story.
Starting from the first portion of the story, the peak of Rajeev’s feelings for
Mahamaya was witnessed. In Rajeev’s eyes, Mahamaya looked like sunlight in
autumn and almost like an icon pure of gold; a line intentionally written by the author
to describe Mahamaya’s beauty. The author also described the surroundings in a
form of imagery, which enhanced the story to have a more vivid and emotional
experience. As far as the story goes, various of language devices can be discovered,
especially simile and imagery. The purpose of this is to better understand how the
character and the setting around the story is being developed.
Topics such as social classes and traditions were involved. These topics were
properly welded into the story, as it had a big influence on how the plot came to be.
Aside from that, there was an interesting element added to the story, which was the
brief mention of Hindu Mythology. The said myth was reflected when Rajeev
proposed to Mahamaya. It showed how the gods played a role in the story, wherein
the god of love in Hindu Mythology was said to have influenced Rajeev to confess.
With this, it just certainly proves my point how the added topics influenced the order
of the story.
Going further across the story, there was a description highlight on Rajeev
and Mahamaya’s relationship after the tragic incident on the funeral pyre.
Mahamaya and Rajeev’s bond, in a formalist perspective, was more of an infatuation
than actual love. The author gave an illusion that Rajeev was truly in love with
Mahamaya, Rajeev was only in love with Mahamaya’s looks and not her character.
Their relationship slowly crumbled, and it’s because of a veil that acted as an
invisible barrier between them.
 In a formalist approach, the veil on Mahamaya symbolized a lot of things and
had a lot meanings extended to it. The veil symbolized a new sort of layer to
Mahamaya’s silent character. With this new layer, Rajeev had difficulty to face
Mahamaya. This veil was a wall that separated them from each other as time passed.
To Mahamaya, the veil is an outlet that she uses to allow Rajeev remain in love with
the original Mahamaya in his head. The burn scar was under it, the fire licked away
the beautiful feature on her face– which was the only characteristic Rajeev perhaps
loved about Mahamaya.
If it really was true love, Mahamaya would be brave to take off the veil. If it
was true love, then Rajeev would also understand why Mahamaya has a veil on.
Moreover, the veil symbolizes the new Mahamaya. The veil is already a part of her,
which was something Rajeev didn’t like. Which means that, Rajeev does not approve
of the new person her lover has become.
C. Annotation of lines using the chosen literary theory
(1) “The midday has many unspecified plaintive sounds of its own; they
manifested in this silence. The partially attached door-panel of the temple went on
swaying gently with the wind, occasionally giving out a low piteous cry.”
I selected this line for it encompassed a good deal of imagery. During this
moment, Rajeev and Mahamaya was sitting in silence. In that silence can be found
the sounds of nature and natural objects across the temple. With this, I was able to
appreciate the writing more because of the beauty of the imagery written.
(2) “Immediately the priest made arrangements for the auspicious occasion and
stood ready”
This line is a type of literary device called ‘Irony’. This line occurred when
Mahamaya was about to get married to an old dying man. I thought that the
statement was so ironic because, Mahamaya was being forced to a marriage she
didn’t even want from the beginning and the word ‘auspiscious’ was totally the
opposite of what was going to happen.
(3) “Nothing but a veil stood between them. Like death, it remained as a permanent
feature in their life and tortured them even more than death.”
The veil is a form of symbolism that symbolizes the occurring distance
between Mahamaya and Rajeev. It was barrier that slowly tear them apart from
each other, causing them be distant and not understand each other.
D. Justification of the usage of the literary theory
I chose formalism theory because I think it fits the story best considering that there
was a lot of language devices in the writing. The story was aesthetically-pleasing
to read and with that I wanted to discover why the form and structure of the story
looked like how it is. The objective is find new meanings in the simple albeit
symbolizing words, which was something abundant in the story. I wanted to learn
how the plot came to be and how the topics was incredibly in harmony with it.
With formalism theory, I will be able to appreciate the work better and understand
the story in a new light.