Introduction
Justitia is the personification of the elements of impartiality and objectivity in justice. While these truths have governed society for millennia, literature often repudiates the claims of universality by criticizing and providing different perspectives regarding perverse aspects of the law in specific contexts. This evaluative function is fulfilled in “Punishment” by Rabindranath Tagore and “The Stranger” by Albert Camus. Despite their different approaches, Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Camus portray the law and its application in the quest for justice as a tool designed to punish those external to its normative boundaries while propagating control.
Conceptualizing Justice
“The Stranger” offers a deep exploration of humanism and the idea of universal justice. The author’s modernist approach digresses from formulaic verse and clear-cut storytelling in favor of a narrative style that emphasizes society’s fragmented state. Camus’ work must be viewed from the perspective of an individual presenting a multifaceted view of the liberation of the oppressed (Miller 72). The story explicates the events that culminate in the murder of an unknown man in Algiers and the eventual trial of the suspect. At first glance, Camus offers a conventional view of justice, as evidenced by the fact that Meursault, who is incapable of showing contrition or defending his heinous act, is found guilty. The final verdict is the death sentence, which is welcome given the fact that his transgression of the ultimate law resulted in his inevitable condemnation.
However, Camus offers an alternative view of the function of justice. Meursault’s lack of emotion over his mother’s demise becomes the trial’s main focus. The accused’s refusal to conform to a universally accepted value system, that is perpetuated by prevalent conceptions of justice ultimately results in his conviction for murder. It is clear that a man who does not cry for his mother risks being condemned to death (Panait-Ioncică 90). Therefore, rather than serve as a reflection of morality, justice, according to Camus is a tool for the enforcement of the value system it represents.
The fact that Meursault was guilty of the crime is a foregone conclusion. There is no scenario in which a court would disavow his culpability. However, the irrelevance of Meursault’s irrational killing of a man during the court proceedings allows Camus to critique society’s conception of justice. The accused is on trial for the transgression of social norms. It is evident that a man Meursault is viewed as a stranger who stands outside normative society. The court judges him as an individual from a different world, given the fact that he refused to conform to traditional beliefs on grief. His character sharply contrasts that of Perez, whose sadness during the funeral made him “far too much upset to notice things” (Camus 57.). Perez’s adherence to social norms provides the strongest indictment of Meursault’s character as a serious danger to society.
“Punishment” tackles the theme of justice in a distinctively realistic fashion. The story highlights the plight of women in a patriarchal society that is characterized by the perpetuation of injustice. The author scorns the entire male fraternity by emphasizing the dehumanization of females (Srivastava 55). Women are considered subordinate beings that are quarrelsome and intolerant, and such actions were viewed as “natural sounds” that did not require investigating (Tagore 867). While a quick reading of Tagore’s story reveals the persecution of women, men are also subjected to inhumane treatment in the distinctly stratified society. Laborers were frequently “soaked in the rain” without pay for their laborers after having suffered insults throughout the day (Tagore 867). The author’s portrayal of mundane, routine experiences serves to highlight the limitations of justice in Indian society. The lack of drama in a tale depicting the unjust sentencing of an innocent woman demonstrates the harsh realities with which the underserved in society must deal with every single day in a world where patriarchy subverts justice.
Assessing Similarities
There are some similarities between Tagore’s and Camus’ assessment of the theme of justice. For instance, the apparent lack of remorse is the primary reason the main characters in both stories are condemned by the law. In “The Stranger” Meursault’s obvious indifference to his mother’s death results in his conviction. His refusal to cry during her funeral highlight the fact that justice is used as a tool to reinforce the predominant value system. The judge’s accusation of the culprit of being “criminal at heart” does not stem from the fact that he committed a murder, but rather because he refused to comply with social norms (Camus 60). The jury is, as a result, incapable of sympathizing with the accused given that their morality prompts them to criminalize any individual who is incapable of crying at his mother’s funeral. Remorse plays a significant mitigating role in the conception of justice, given that it determines whether or not an individual can be re-integrated into the dominant value system. In essence, it is a vital element of social control. Society viewed Meursault’s inability to cry as a refusal to atone for social transgressions.
“Punishment” demonstrates, albeit in a different fashion, how the apparent lack of remorse results in the conviction of an innocent woman. Chandra has been accused of the murder of her sister-in-law by her husband. As the case proceeds, Chandra refuses to fight and save her life when questioned by investigators as well as the judge. Her rebellion is intended to highlight the pervasiveness of male chauvinism and the persecution of women in society (Nawaz et al. 261). She maintains her stand even when Chidam pleads that his wife had “done nothing wrong” and confesses to the crime (Tagore 162). In addition, Dukhiram’s confession does little to sway the headstrong Chandra. The judge, now faced with three versions of the story, chooses to convict Chandra of the murder. His actions demonstrate how justice seeks to preserve dominant value systems, which in this case was the supremacy of patriarchy. It is evident that Chandra was deemed guilty regardless of the truth. The severity of the injustice meted out to women and the difficulty of changing traditions in a male-dominated society was evidenced by Chandra’s willingness to die for a crime she did not commit.
Conclusion
Even though Tagore and Camus employ different approaches, their portrayal of the law and its application in the quest for justice as a tool designed to punish those external to its normative boundaries is evident. The authors provide an assessment of justice that categorically disproves its claims of universality and objectivity. It is evident from both stories that the law and the justice it purportedly promotes are social constructs intended to enforce normative thoughts and beliefs. Actions that fall outside the clearly delineated boundaries inadvertently lead to devastating consequences.
Works Cited
Tagore, Rabindranath. “Punishment.” The Norton Anthology: World Literature, edited by Suzanne Conklin and Wiebke Denecke, W. W. Norton & Company, 2018, pp. 867-873.
Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Translated by Stuart Gilbert, Vintage-Random House, 1942.
Miller, Alexander. “Albert Camus: A Very Short Introduction.” Philosophy in Review, vol. 41, no. 2, 2021, pp. 71–73, Web.
Nawaz, Shazmeen, et al. “Indian Females’ Subjectivity and No Place in Punishment by Rabindranath Tagore.” Competitive Educational Research Journal, vol. 3, no. 1, 2022, pp. 255–66, Web.
Panait-Ioncică, Diana-Eugenia. “Scapegoating in ‘The Stranger’ by Albert Camus.” Holistica Journal of Business and Public Administration, vol. 12, no. 1, 2021, pp. 89–96, Web.
Srivastava, Shweta. “Paradoxical Situations in Short Stories of Rabindranath Tagore.” International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Publications, vol. 4, no. 2, 2021, pp. 53–57, Web.