DENNES SEBASTIAN

Character Sketch of Nomita   Nomita in the story  Matchbox   written by Ashapurna Debi is a typical Indian housewife who is bound to sacrifice many of her ambitions and hopes and be enslaved in the kitchen. Ashapurna Debi portrays her colorless – without the hues of a happy life. Her widowed mother thinks that she is successful in consigning her daughter to a rich family which is not on the merit of finance but by looks alone. Nomita expects a minimum freedom of reading the letters addressed to her. Her husband seems to be dubious about the letters when he tries to read it without her consent.  It is true what Ashapurna Debi says about Nomita and women in general that they are like matchboxes settled at the corners of the house with their hidden power to explode at any time. Nomita follows the example of a matchbox and she burns with anger when she is helpless. To break the shackles of marital slavery she is rea...

Matchbox Ashapurna Debi “Matchbox”, is written by Ashapurna Debi, a Bengali Novelist. It tells the story of Ajit and Nomita , young married couple. The story narrates the unhealthy man-woman relationship existing in most Indian families. Ashapurna Debi, in the beginning of the story compares women to matchboxes. Matchboxes have the potential to light up everything into fire. The tiny bit of gunpowder in it can burn down a hundred Lankas, she says. But in appearance, they are meek and harmless. You can place the matchbox in the kitchen, pantry, bedroom, in pocket or anywhere without fear. We know that it won’t cause a fire by itself. It is the same with women. They also appear to be meek and harmless. Men treat the like matchboxes. Men don’t fear women and take them lightly. But Ashapurna Debi tells us that if they want, they can set everything into fire within no time. The central character of the story is Nomita. Her husband Ajit has the habit of opening his wife’s letters a...