Exploring the Complexities of Faith and Tradition: Jungian Female Archetypes and Social Reform in Rabindranath Tagore’s Sacrifice

Abstract

The play Sacrifice (Visarjan, 1890) by Rabindranath Tagore is commonly acknowledged to have been an important exploration of the conflicts between faith, ritual, and reform, especially in its interaction with the ethical implications of religious orthodoxy. Building upon this enduring critical foundation, the current paper seeks to emphasise the psychological depth and structural significance of the play’s female characters. The research takes a two-fold theoretical approach based on archetypal psychology of Carl Gustav Jung, where Gunavati is understood as the Terrible Mother—a source of authority, devotion, and latent violence—and Aparna is the redemptive Anima, a source of compassion, introspection, and moral renewal. These archetypal characters function not merely as symbols but as dynamic psychic forces that influence the dramatic movement. Simultaneously, E. M. Forster’s theoretical formulation in Aspects of the Novel illuminates the nuanced characterisation of Tagore’s female characters, who embody the traits of “round characters” who develop and surprise throughout the drama. Together, these frameworks reveal that the ethical vision of Sacrifice is created through the interaction of archetype and narrative form, with female characters serving as both symbolic and transformative agents.