Jorasanko Thakur Bari: The Tragedy of Women’s Lives Beneath the Veil of Grandeur

Abstract

This research paper presents Jorasanko Thakur Bari not merely as a symbol of cultural grandeur and literary glory, but as a site that embodies women’s oppression, mental anguish, and silenced suffering. The study centers on the life experiences of Mrinalini Devi and Kadambari Devi, through which it examines the patriarchal order, class inequality, and the helpless condition of women within so-called elite families. Child marriage, the erasure of name and identity, emotional neglect, the relentless burden of motherhood, and psychological depression collectively shape the lived realities of women in Thakur Bari. By questioning the private familial role of a towering literary figure like Rabindranath Tagore, the paper exposes the contradictions between his poetic sensibility and his role as a husband. It also critically addresses the inhuman attitude toward widows, opposition to widow remarriage, and women’s economic dependence. The article argues that a society that spoke eloquently of national freedom and modernity simultaneously compelled women within its own households to live in conditions of mental servitude. Thus, Jorasanko Thakur Bari emerges as a powerful symbol of the suppressed realities and unspoken truths of women’s lives.