The Bangle Sellers: Themes: 2022

The Bangle Sellers is one of the most popular poems written by own very own Sarojini Naidu. In this article, we are discussing The Bangle Sellers: Themes.

The Bangle Sellers: Themes

The poem comprises two central themes, which include- the celebration of womanhood and patriarchy. Do take a look at the following themes here.

Celebration of Womanhood:

In this poem, Sarojini Naidu celebrates and glorifies Indian womanhood. The stages of an Indian woman’s life are represented through the color of bangles in this poem. Each color represents each stage she crosses. Each stage of an Indian woman’s life, from a maiden to a bride and finally to a mature woman with experience, is described through colors in this poem. Silver and blue, or pink -maidenhood; yellow- morning of her wedding; red or orange (fiery shades) symbolizes her bridal night; purple and gold- motherhood and matriarchy. According to the poetess, the lives of Indian women should be radiant and lustrous like the bangles. The “rainbow-tinted” bangles are symbolic of the multicolored phases of a woman’s life.

Bangles are associated with daughters and wives in Indian society since the very beginning. The second stanza brings into limelight the bangles, which are suitable for a maiden who is carrying numerous dreams and desires about her future. While the blue and silver-colored bangles resemble the mist in the mountains, some resemble the buds of flowers. These images highlight the beauty and freshness of the pretty maidens. The blooming flowers represent the blooming of these maidens into women.

The golden-colored bangles that resemble sunlit bright cornfields are meant for the Indian brides. These golden bangles represent the flame of the holy fire around which the bride and groom take marriage vows. This flame-like resemblance of the golden bangles for a bride suggests the idea of the flame of love.

The final stanza captures the full transformation of the maiden into a woman “who has journeyed through life midway” and who “serves her husband in fruitful pride.” Purple and gold-flecked grey are the colors that represent maturity in a woman. Grey represents the maturity that comes with age. Sarojini Naidu’s idea of the ideal Indian woman is summed up in the poem’s final lines as an Indian woman is represented as the force that keeps the family together.

Patriarchy:

Although it is only alluded to in innuendos, the patriarchal ideology lurks beneath the surface of the poem. The women are described as either happy ‘daughters’ or ‘wives.’ Every phase she passes is referred to by a man in her life, father, husband, sons. The woman in this poem is fit into boxes that limit their existence to being a possessed object of patriarchy. Even if this poem is ironic, it still discusses the ideas propagated by the patriarchal society. I hope you enjoyed going through The Bangle Sellers: themes and would check out the themes of other poems here at Beamingnotes Themes section! You can also refer to Bangle Sellers: Summary for more insight on the same poem.
You may also want to take a look at this video playlist to learn more about this poem in an Audio-Visual format!