The Bangle Sellers

 The Bangle Sellers

The Bangle Sellers’ was published in the 1912 collection of poetry called The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death and the Spring. The poem depicts a group of bangle sellers who wander from town to town to sell their inventory.  One of them becomes the narrator or the speaker of the poem.

Extract I

Bangle sellers are we……daughters and happy wives.

1.    What is being referred to as ‘shining loads’? Who all are its prospective buyers?

The shining bangles that are being carried by the bangle sellers to the temple fair for sale are referred to as shining loads. Women of every age group are the prospective buyers of these bangles.

2.    Bangle sellers could sell their goods anywhere. Why do they choose to go to the temple fair?

Temple fair is the place which is visited by women of all age groups. Here the bangle sellers can sell their goods to ‘happy daughters and happy wives.’

3.    Which figure of speech is used in the line ‘Rainbow-tinted circles of light’? Explain what is linked to the happiness of daughters and wives.

The figure of speech used here is  a metaphor as multi-hued bangles are compared to the radiant lives of ‘happy daughters and happy wives.’ The multi-coloured bangles have been linked to the dreams, youthfulness and aspirations of ‘happy daughters and happy wives.’

4.    Explain how the poet uses her descriptive skills to present facts. Give two examples from the extract.

The bangle sellers go to the temple fair to sell bangles as women of every age would be present there. The poet’s descriptive skills are reflected in the way she has expressed the different stages in a traditional India woman’s life. For example, in a single stanza she had described bangles as ‘shining loads’, ‘rainbow tinted circles of light’ and ‘lustrous tokens of radiant lives.’

5.    What role do the bangle sellers play in a traditional Indian set-up, according to this extract?

The bangle sellers are the carriers of those ‘shining loads’ that glorify the idea of Indian womanhood. They try to convince buyers of the spiritual and symbolic importance of the bangles in the lives of ‘happy daughters and happy wives.’ The bangles are symbolic of different stages of womanhood.

 

Extract II

Some are meet for a ……..of new born leaves.

1.    What type of bangles are befitting for a maiden’s wrist? Why are silver and blue colours compared to the mountain mist?

Silver and blue coloured bangles are befitting a maiden’s wrist. These bangles are compared to blue and silver mist of mountains as they symbolise the freshness and the beauty of young maidens.

2.    In what way are the buds set to dream? What figure of speech is used in ‘the buds set to dream’?

The bangles are suitable for the bud-like young maidens who dream of their happy future. They dream of growing up and blossoming like beautiful flowers. The figure of speech- personification.

3.    Give the meaning of :

Some are flushed like the buds that dream

On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream

Some of the bangles have shades of pink of yet to bloom flowers on a woodland stream.

4.    How are the bangles compared to the newborn leaves?

The bangles suitable for maiden’s wrist are see in association with the freshness of ‘new born leaves’ or the clear dew drops on newborn leaves. The maidens like the newborn leaves or dew drops are pure, fresh and chaste. They are yet to see the world.

5.    State the colours of the bangles meant for a maiden. What do these colours symbolise?

Silver and blue coloured bangles are meant for a maiden. These colours have their association with mountain mist or streams, which are fresh, beautiful and evolving.

 

Extract III

Some are like fields of sunlit corn……laughter and bridal dear.

1.    What is being compared to ‘fields of sunlit corn’? Why?

Golden or yellow coloured bangles, suitable for a bride are compared to fields of sunlight corn. The corn fields- a proof of Mother Nature’s fertility are symbolic of the fertility of a young girl getting married.

2.    What do you understand by the phrases ‘bridal laughter’ and ‘bridal tear’? With what have they been compared in the extract?

Bridal laughter means the happiness and blissfulness a bride experiences while getting married. Bridal tear means sadness that accompanies a bride while leaving her parental abode.

These phrases are compared to the bangles suitable for a bride, which are luminous, bright and tinkling. The bangles are symbolic of her entry into  a new life.

3.    Which figure of speech is used in these two lines? Explain with examples.

Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,

Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire

 Simile, in which a likeness between two different things is stated  in an explicit way using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.

In these lines the golden and red coloured bangles suitable for a bride are compared to the flame of her  marriage fire and the love that she would experience in her new life.

4.    Bring out the relevance of the line:

Some , like the flame of her marriage fire

The colour of the bangles suitable for  a woman on her wedding day is compared to the reddish yellow flame of marriage around which the bride takes marriage vows with her groom. The flame-like colour of bangles is appropriate to symbolise the flame of love in marriage.

5.    Wedding become befitting occasions to wear bangles. In what ways does the poet associate bangles with a bride?

The bangles worn by a bride in a traditional Indian wedding have spiritual and symbolic significance. Each stage of an  Indian woman’s life is described according to the colour of bangles suitable at that stage from a dreamy maiden to an excited bride and finally to a mature matriarch. The bangles that are suitable for a bride are golden coloured like the holy fire around which the bride takes marriage vows with her groom. The bangles also have the colour of ‘her heart’s desire’ which is suggestive of dreams and hopes of a newly wedded bride.

 

Extract IV

Some are purple and gold…..her husband’s side.

1.    For whom are the  ‘purple and gold flecked grey’ bangles suitable for? Which phase of their lives is symbolised by these bangles?

For a woman ‘who has journeyed through life midway’ and has gained experience and wisdom.

These bangles symbolise that phase when the maiden turned bride becomes a proud mother and responsible wife. She has experienced all the aspects of being a woman.

2.    Discuss the use of colour imagery in the above extract.

Colours represent various moods and aspects of life. In the above extract, all the aspects of being a woman have been experienced. The colours chosen for he bangles are purple and gold flecked grey. Purple colour indicates power, authority, pride and dignity and gold flecked grey, a sober colour, indicates experience and wisdom. Thus, the woman wearing purple bangles has gained maturity, reared her children with love and at last has achieved the fullness of her role as wife and mother.

3.    Explain briefly the following lines:

Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,

And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast.

The lines are relevant to the concept of Indian motherhood. The bangle sellers attribute purple and gold flecked grey bangles to the mother who has attained maturity by rearing her children. The bangles are suitable for those hands that  have cherished, loved, blessed and cradled her sons.

4.    What special significance does the phrase ‘faithful pride’ hold in the above extract?

‘Faithful pride’ is a significant phrase in context of a woman who has ‘journeyed through life midway’; she has been a loving daughter, a happy bride; a responsible wife and mother. Her experiences have made her a perfect India woman. She has been productive and fecund for her family and thus ‘serves her household in fruitful pride.

5.    Comment on the changes in the life of a woman vis-à-vis the colour of her bangles.

Rainbow-tinted bangles are symbolic of different shades of womanhood.

The blue and silver coloured bangles like the blue and silver mist of mountains; shades of pink of yet to blossom flowers or the clear dew drops on new born leaves are suitable for young maidens.

The golden coloured like the holy fire around which the bride takes marriage vows and the golden coloured bangles, compared to yellow sunlit corn fields are suitable for a bride.

The purple and golden flecked  grey bangles are suitable for a woman who has journeyed through life midway.

 

The Bangle Sellers Comprehension Passages

1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair…
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light ?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.

(i) Where are the bangle sellers going ? Are they happy and contented ?
Answer: The bangle sellers are going to a temple fair to sell their bangles to earn money. Actually they cannot be happy and contented because they live in poverty and deprivation. But they can, of course, appear to be happy.

(ii) What do you mean by ‘Rainbow-tinted circles of light’ ? What kind of literary device is it ?
Answer: The multicoloured bangles are described as rainbow-tinted circles of light. It is a metaphor.

(iii) What are these bangles for ? Why has the poet repeated the word ‘happy’ in the last line here ?
Answer: These bangles are meant for happy daughters and happy wives. By repeating the word ‘happy’, the poet has emphasised the human element of the product. The daughters who expect to be married soon wear bangles to express their happy longings. The wives who wear bangles express their happiness and contentment in their marital life.

(iv) What colours of bangles are preferred by virgin maidens ?
Answer: The bangles which are silvery and blue and as misty as mountain mist are preferred by virgin maidens who have countless longings for their married lives. The bangles which are as pink as buds that bloom on the calm surface of a forest stream, are also preferred by the virgin maidens. The shining green bangles are also liked by them.

(v) What rhyme scheme is followed in the poem ?
Answer: The poem consists of four stanzas of six lines each. The rhyme scheme followed in each stanza is aabbcc, which is a couplet form. It is mainly responsible for the melodious effect and fast rhythm. It renders a lyrical and musical effect to the whole poem. It gratifies the auditory sense of the readers.

2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist,
Silver and blue as the mountain mist,
Some are flushed like the buds that dream
On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,
Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves
To the limpid glory of new born leaves.

(i) Who is the narrator ? What has been described earlier ?
Answer: The narrator, one of the bangle sellers, may be a man or a woman – we have no clue to the gender. The bangle sellers are going to a temple fair to sell their bangles to earn money. They sell multicoloured bangles to the happy maidens and happy wives. They have a large variety of beautiful bangles. The happy maidens and happy wives have an ample choice to select bangles of their likings.

(ii) In what context is the expression ‘the mountain mist’ used here ?
Answer: This expression is used for the colour of bangles which are preferred by virgin maidens. The poet says that the bangles which are silvery and blue and as misty as mountain are preferred by virgin maidens.

(iii) How has the poet described the bangles ?
Answer: The poet has described the multicoloured bangles with the help of similes. For example, she says :
1. Silver and blue as the mountain mist
2. Some are flushed like the buds that dream

(iv) Explain : “Some are aglow with the bloom new born leaves
Answer: Some of the bangles are shining green whose freshness is close to the vivid beauty of the new born, tender leaves. Such bangles are preferred by the virgin maidens who have countless longings for their married lives.

(v) What does the poet say about the bride’s preference about bangles later in the context ?
Answer: The bride prefers yellow bangles which look like corn fields because they are suitable for a bride on her marriage morning. She also likes fiery red bangles which are like the flame of her marriage fire. They are expressive of the passion in her heart. They create a ringing sound as the bride walks. They are shining and delicate, as the laughter of the bride (as she is getting married) or tear (as she weeps at the separation from her parents).

3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Some are purple and gold flecked grey
For she who has journeyed through life midway,
Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,
And serves her household in fruitful pride,
And worships the gods at her husband’s side.

(i) What kinds of bangles have earlier been mentioned ?
Answer: Bangles of different colours have been mentioned earlier : silver, blue, pink and green for virgin maidens, yellow and fiery red for the bride.

(ii) What hues of bangles are cherished by a bride ? What are they symbolic of ?
Answer: A bride cherishes yellow and fiery-red coloured bangles. These colours represent her happiness on the wedding day (yellow) and her passion on the wedding night (fiery red).

(iii) Purple and golden coloured bangles represent motherhood. How ?
Answer: Purple and golden coloured bangles represent motherhood. These colours are associated with the feelings of pride and fulfilment in the heart of the mother.

(iv) What fulfils the life of an Indian wife and mother ?
Answer: Rearing her sons, serving her family and sharing the proud place of being by the side of her husband at religious rituals fulfil the life of an Indian wife and mother.

(v) What in the passage will repel a modem woman ?
Answer: A modern woman will be repelled by the patriarchal notions inherent in the passage : gender discrimination and insubordination of women in the social and religious set-up.

The Bangle Sellers Assignment

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Some are like fields of sunlit corn,
Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,
Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,
Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire,
Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,
Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.

(i) What hues of bangles are preferred by virgin maidens as told earlier in the context ?
(ii) Why does the bride have preference for yellow coloured bangles for her wedding morning ?
(iii) Why has the red colour of bangles been compared to the flame of the bride’s marriage fire ?
(iv) Which literary device is used in the last two lines here ?
(v) Why does the poet refer to the ‘bridal laughter’ and ‘bridal tear’ simultaneously ?