Studies in English Language and Literature

In ‘Rajmohan’s Wife’, the debut novel in English by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, we find that the characterisation of Rajmohan, like the other character portrayals, has been depicted very skilfully and subtly by the novelist with his stroke of master craftsmanship. The more we go through the novel, the more we do come to know about the much-discussed character of Rajmohan, who was indeed the undeserving and worthless husband of Matangini. He represents immorality, corruption, dishonesty, orthodoxy, brutality, worthlessness, lack of integrity of character, profaneness, propensity to torment his wife and so on and so forth. In course of the novel, we, slowly but surely, come to explore that this character lacked conscience and discretion. Broadly speaking, Matangini and Rajmohan had an unhappy conjugal life. It is worthy to be noted that he was tyrannical, dictatorial, jealous and unloving to his wife. Matangini had to spend every day with lots of pain, pangs, suffering and misery due...

In Rajmohan's Wife , a novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, we come across the character of Suki’s mother in the twelfth chapter of the work. Portrayed as a bucolic character, she is a middle-aged woman. She had dark complexion with partial hair growth and a creased visage. Clad in abrasive clothes, she had a very simple appearance. She had a couple of friends named Kanak and Matangini. Apart from being sympathetic to Matangini, she was full of duty, responsibility and awareness of her household chores. Besides being helpful and supportive, Suki’s mother, by and large, loved and advised Matangini a lot. She was suffused with receptivity, compassion and affection. Moreover, she fostered a mind that was practical. Suki’s mother, with a heart full of mercy, with strong resolution, worked as a maidservant in Mathur Ghose’s residence. She was very much loyal too. However, nothing or nobody can be bereft of any ill act. Who can be perfect completely? Suki’s mother was not an except...

We come across the characters of the  dacoit sardar  or the chief robber and his companion, Bhiku in the sixth chapter of the novel named  Rajmohan’s Wife written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. While Rajmohan was engaged in hatching a conspiracy with the the two robbers in his residential house, all of them conspired how to commit a daring robbery in Madhav Ghose's house. But why? They did so in order to wrench the uncle’s will from his hand. They wanted to harry away his property too. The robbers were not only very heartless but also were they too much ruthless. Before invading the house of Madhav Ghose, they kept themselves concealed in the mango grove. Making a terrific shout from the wilderness, the dacoits went away.  Thereafter, the gang barged into Rajmohan's house. Their deeds frankly speak of  their wickedness and ill mentality. Then the robbers were given the assignment to abduct Madhav Ghose. Anyway, after the act of abd...

Rajmohan's Wife  by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay the first ever English novel in India. Apart from that, this novel is the novelist's first novel ever. Published in 1864, t he theme of the novel is love and romance as well as depiction of strong women with twenty-one chapters in totaling. The first chapter of the novel is “The Drawers of Water”, while  the last chapter of the novel is “The Last Chapter in Life’s Book – and In This”. Now let's have an overview of the chapters -- Chapter 1 A tiny hamlet situated on the banks of the Madhumati River was very much important because of the rich zamindars living there. After a siesta, Kanak, a lady of about thirty years of age, went to a neighbour's house with four huts. There she came across a young housewife who was busy in her needlework. Chapter 2 When the sun was about to go down, Kanak and her companion, that is, the young lady of eighteen years of age, were returning home with pitchers in their h...