Sample Solution

he “tastefully, though not expensively, furnished room.” (109) reveals an unmistakeable consciousness surrounding financial matters. In other words, the pressures of capitalism can already be spotted within the household. In this light, the room’s interiors appear to be a calculated facade imitating comfort yet bearing marks of concern towards matters of wealth and appearance. Mark Sanberg expands upon this idea of innate corruption within the bourgeoise household by stating that Ibsen’s text is concerned with “dislodging the home from its privileged association with domestic ideals and the testing of the “house” as a modern alternative.” (85). Indeed, the distinction between the home and the house is an important one. The house is stripped of its elevated position as a secure space and instead occupies a more liminal position, prone to change and invasion. This differs from Tagore’s text which has no apparent engagement with capitalist affairs at the outset. Instead, Bimala’s household is initially unmarred by the influence of external forces “It transcended all debates, or doubts, or calculations: it was pure music.” (18). However, it would presumptuous to suggest that this state of bliss is indefinite as the looming presence of the outside world is certainly visible within Bimala’s narrative “What do I want with the outside world?” (23). Such allusions are important as they highlight the threat of what lurks beyond the safety of the household. In this sense, Berman’s vision of modernity as “a maelstrom of perpetual disintegration” (15) does not coalesce neatly with how it is presented in Ibsen and Tagore’s texts. This is because a maelstrom is indicative of a vortex, consuming the matter that surrounds it. It is not subtle, it is antagonistic. Yet, in both pieces it is more akin to an infection, spreading outwards and contaminating all that it touches. It is not an aggressive force, like a maelstrom, as much as it is an inevitable process of change.