What is the summary of Rabindranath Tagore's "The Lost Jewels"?
This story is told by an unnamed narrator who claims he heard it from a schoolmaster sitting before a dilapidated grand house. The schoolmaster says that a rich man named Bhusan Saba, who followed modern ways, used to live in the house. Bhusan married a beautiful, cold woman named Mani, who, the schoolmaster says, was able to manipulate her husband and get what she wanted without wheedling. The schoolmaster claims that Bhusan was too untraditional in his ways, leading to his wife's ruin.
Bhusan needed money and asked his wife for some of her jewels, but she was unwilling to part with them. He was also unwilling to take them by force. His wife decided to flee with her jewels so that her husband would not take them, and she set off in a boat bedecked with jewels. When Bhusan returned, he searched for Mani in vain, but she was...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
never found. In a state of deep mourning, Bhusan began to hear the noise of a body wearing jewels coming towards his house, and then he dreamed of a skeleton bedecked in jewels who came in search of him and beckoned him to the river. He stepped out in his dream and drowned in the river.
At the end of the story, the schoolmaster asks if the narrator believes the story, but the narrator replies that he does not. The reason is that he is Bhusan Saba, and his wife has an entirely different name than the name used in the story.
Typical of stories emanating from the Bengali region of India, Rabindranath Tagore's story, "Monihara" or, as it is translated into English, "Lost Jewels," incorporates a healthy dose of mysticism and mystery.
On the proverbial dark, stormy night, a school teacher walking along a river encounters a man on a boat and engages him in conversation. The mysterious stranger tells the teacher about the history of a nearby gothic old dilapidated house that shows signs of having once been the domain of wealthy people. The house, as described by the stranger, once belonged to a couple, Phanibhushan Saha and his wife, Monimalika. A member's Bengal's elite, Phanibhushan and Monimalika live an isolated existence, surrounded by the trappings of wealth. Monimalika spends much of her time handling and admiring her jewels.
A fire destroys one of Phanibhushan's factories, leaving the couple destitute, with Monimalika's jewels representing their sole remaining source of wealth. Fearful of Phanibhushan's desire to sell the jewels for much needed money, Monimalika chooses to protect them by wearing all of them at once, and promply disappears. Increasingly despondent, Phanibhushan descends into a virtual state of emotional paralysis, unable to function in the absence of his wife and his wealth. The story reaches its climax when a ghost-like figure visits him one dark and stormy night and seizes the one final piece of jewelry that was still in the house and departs, leaving Phanibhushan alone and terrified.
Phanibhushan clearly fits into the mold of Ebenezer Scrooge, and the "dark and stormy night" theme would later be employed to questionable effect by Snoopy.
What is the central idea in Rabindranath Tagore's Lost Jewels?
In Rabindranath Tagore's short story Lost Jewels, Tagore allows the reader to consider the endless possible outcomes to his story and the message or central idea and theme that he imparts. The central idea is considered in the title and reveals the context of the poem. The central idea is a more direct interpretation than the theme which helps the reader understand the broader or universal appeal of the story.
Although the issue of Bhusan's lies about his true identity indicates that there is more to the story than meets the eye, the central idea revolves around Bhusan's dilemma and how devastated he is that his wife never returns to him. He has to listen to the schoolmaster tell him his own story, making it all the more painful and revealing his flaws. The greed of his wife and his own "passivity" both contribute to the central idea. The couple's inability to communicate is complicated by their lack of understanding of each other and the fact that neither is interested in gaining something more precious than any jewels (his wife) or shallow need to please (himself). Ironically, it is the very jewels that Bhusan buys his wife to show his love for her that ultimately cause their rift. His wife's greed and expectations overwhelm them both to the point that she does not recognize his needs, or even care, and he has contributed to her attitude by excluding her to the point that she feels no obligation to help him recover from his business difficulties.
The story serves as a warning that relationships require mutual respect otherwise there can be no growth. This couple do not learn from their mistakes and it is too late for Bhusan to make any changes. He anticipates his wife's return but it is unlikely that he would have done anything differently. Only after the dreams does he begin to understand his own contribution to the problem, even though the school master does suggest that their relationship had no foundation and so was doomed to failure. Whereas the theme is love, greed and the universal problems associated with these issues, the central idea of this story is how Bhusan and his wife's lack of communication and respect manifests itself in her greed and his regret.