Character Sketch of Chitra

📚 CHITRA-THE MODERN WOMAN 📚

Chitrangada, the heroine of the play is a daughter of Chitravahana, the king of Manipur. Her 

forefathers had a boon from Mahadeva that there will be at least one male heir in their family 

to look after their empire of Manipur. But even the words of the God proved to be powerless and Chitravahana begets a daughter instead of a son. Therefore, he brings up Chitra not as a 

daughter but a son. He gives her boy-like treatment. 

In fact, Tagore, here, takes liberty to change the original story to some extent to indicate that women in the Vedic India were free and there was man-woman equality at that time. Therefore, he shows Chitra as a very bold, 

daring and courageous woman just like a modern woman in the twenty-first century. The 

following features of Chitra prove her to be so.

Chitra in Male’s Attire:

In the very beginning, Chitra is shown in male‟s attire. Even today in the twenty-first century, 

women are denied to put on the cloths of men. Only those who consider themselves as 

modern and free women put on mens cloths.

 Chitra in the play is a modern woman. It is 

rightly indicated by showing her in male‟s attire. The technique of showing her in male‟s 

attire is skillfully deployed by the playwright. Thus, Chitra in male‟s attire is a symbol of 

modernity. She enjoys liberty of man in putting on the cloths.

Her Horse Riding and Hunting:

Like a brave man, Chitra is also shown as a well-versed in horse-riding. She makes hunting 

her hobby. In the history of the world, hunting has always been a passion of men. Brave kings 

and warriors are always shown as hungry for hunting. Chitra is also shown as a passionate 

hunter in the play. She was pursuing an animal for hunting and right at that time she comes 

across Arjuna lying on the ground like a hermit. Thus, like every modern woman, Chitra also 

nourishes the hobby of men.

Chitra as a Ruler:

Even though Chitravahana, Chitra‟s father, is a real ruler of the state, it is Chitra who protects 

the subjects from the robbers and looters. When Chitra goes to stay with Arjuna under the 

pretext that she is going on pilgrimage, villagers express their extreme anxiety for their 

insecurity due to her absence. They are worried about who will protect them from the robbers 

pouring from the northern hills. They share their grief in the following words: “Princess 

Chitra was the terror of all evil doers. While she was in this happy land we feared natural 

deaths, but had no other fears. 

Now she has gone on a pilgrimage, and none knows where to 

find her” (53).

Thus, like the great warriors like Razia Sultana and Ahilyadevi Holkar, Chitra is shown as a very able and powerful protector of her subjects. She adopts modern attitude and therefore 

could carve her image as a modern woman. Here also, Chitra carves her image as a modern 

woman.

Chitra’s Proposal to Arjuna:

Generally, it is a man who proposes to woman for love or marriage. Any traditional woman 

would not dare to propose to a man for love or marriage. But in the play, “Chitra” it is Chitra, a woman, who proposes to Arjuna, a man. Through this act, she proves herself not as a traditional but a modern woman.

Arjuna’s Rejection and Chitra’s Undertaking of Hard Penance: 

The Chitra who proposes to Arjuna is rough and sturdy. She is not beautiful. She is not physically attractive. She fails to attract Arjuna. As a result, when Chitra proposes to Arjuna, 

he rejects her proposal by saying that he has undertaken the avowed celibacy. At that time, 

like every common woman, Chitra does not shed tears by confining herself within four walls. 

Instead, she undertakes hard penance and thereby pleases the two Gods – Madana and 

Vasanta and borrows voluptuous beauty “...not for short span of a day, but for whole one 

year...” (10). Thus, Chitra proves her bravery in the fact that she undertakes hard penance and 

gets what she wants instead of shedding tears like a common woman.

Arjuna’s Rejection and Chitra’s Undertaking of Hard Penance: 

The Chitra who proposes to Arjuna is rough and sturdy. She is not beautiful. She is not physically attractive. She fails to attract Arjuna. As a result, when Chitra proposes to Arjuna, he rejects her proposal by saying that he has undertaken the avowed celibacy. At that time, 

like every common woman, Chitra does not shed tears by confining herself within four walls. 

Instead, she undertakes hard penance and thereby pleases the two Gods – Madana and 

Vasanta and borrows voluptuous beauty “...not for short span of a day, but for whole one 

year...” (10). Thus, Chitra proves her bravery in the fact that she undertakes hard penance and 

gets what she wants instead of shedding tears like a common woman.

Chitra’s Romanticism:

Romanticism is one of the major qualities of a modern woman. Chitra could be claimed as a 

modern woman for her being romantic. It is she who seems to have taken initiative in the 

romance with Arjuna. She does not even hesitate to share her experience of romance with 

Madana and Vasanta. She narrates her indulgence into sexual pleasure with Arjuna as 

“Heaven and earth, time and space, pleasure and pain, death and life merged together in an 

unbearable ecstasy” (25). She seems to bear bold and candid attitude in the matter of sex. 

When Arjuna gets fed up with her company, she promotes Arjuna to indulge into sexual 

experience. She promotes Arjuna in the following words: “Take me in your arms, my love.

Let all vain bickerings of discontent die away at the sweet meeting of our lips” (33).

Chitra as a Courageous Woman:

Like every modern woman, Chitra is depicted as a very daring and powerful woman. She is even shown as more powerful than Arjuna. Like Shakespearean plays, Tagore‟s heroine 

Chitrangada in the play, “Chitra” is depicted as a more powerful woman than the hero. She 

possesses all the qualities of a modern woman. She proves her prowess and valour in the 

words such as: “Would it please your heroic soul if the playmate of the night aspired to be the 

helpmate of the day, if the left arm learnt to share the burden of the proud right arm” (60).

She finally becomes a voice of the modern woman when she says: “I am Chitra. No goddess, 

to be worshipped, nor yet the object of common pity to be brushed aside like a moth free.

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁