Page 169 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Unit 20: Premchand: Godan—Introduction to the Text

• The lack of education of the peasants can be considered a major factor in their backwardness. Notes
Superstitions are prevalent. We have a humorous account of how news spreads in the village
of Dhania's over-powering the inspector. After the incident, people flock around Hori's hut
to have a Darshan of Dhania. They undergo all the rites , to protect the newly arrived cow
from the evil eye. They cannot fling away their false pride even in the face of dire poverty.
Even though, Sona's bridegroom does not demand any dowry, they pay it as it a matter of
prestige in society. Again, the caste-system very much exists . We find Heera admonishing
Punia for quarrelling with a low caste man.
• Women are not portrayed as equal to men. We find Damri exclaiming to Hori how his son
ran away leaving his wife with another woman. Subsequently, his wife gets married to
another man. Damri gets revolted only with the infidelity of women and not men thereby
practicing double standards. The husbands ill treat their wives after drinking. Dhania talks
of Hori's ill-treatment and quips how it would have been if it were the other way around.
Heera also abuses his wife. Though Gobar is affectionate towards his wife in the beginning
, gradually their relationship deteriorates. "Early married life throbs with love and desire;
like the dawn the span of life is suffused with a roseate glow. The afternoon of life dissolves
illusion into its stinging rays, but brings face to face with reality."
• Some of the scenes will always be memorable. Like, for instance, when Rupa sucks on a raw
mango in starvation. The handing over of the child-like Rupa to the elderly man in marriage.
The deserting of the aged parents by Jhunia and Gobar, who bore all pains and social
stigma for them. The economical system came as a blessing, but Jhenguri Singh makes
maximum use of it to manipulate people. The most heart-rending scene is the death of Hori
or more precisely his last moments. His being religious and magnanimous, the family does
not possess the adequate means even to complete his final rites. The novel thus ends in a
tragedy.

20.3 Key-Words
1. Superstitions : Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the
cause of another without any physical process linking the two events, such
as astrology, omens, witchcraft, etc., that contradicts natural science
2. Manipulate : To manage or influence skillfully, especially in an unfair manner
20.4 Review Questions

1. Describe the Life of a poor farmer Hori and his struggle to keep alive in the milieu of British
Raj.
2. Give a brief introduction to the Novel Godan.
Answers: Self-Assessment
1. (i) 1936 (ii) Dhanpatrai (iii) Dhania.

20.5 Further Readings

1. Premchand Rachnavali (collected works of Premchand) Vol. 20, Delhi, Janwani
Prakashan 1996: 377–425.
2. Godan (The Gift of a Cow) (1936) English Translation by Gordon c. Roadarmel
(2007, 1968, New Delhi).

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