T HE F ARM ER′S W IF E

COMPREHENSION I

1. In the poem ‘you’ refers to the farmer and ‘I’ refers to the farmer's wife.

2. The speaker's husband has committed suicide because the cotton crop was destroyed and he could not
repay the loan.

3. (4) The speaker draws a series of contrast between the farmer and his wife. The farmer's wife says that
the dead farmer is considered to be virtuous and a martyr while the wife is considered to be a poor
sinner left behind to repay the loan.
The husband is taken to be a self-respecting man who does not want to bend his head or stretch his
arms whereas the wife has been used to bending her head and stretching her hand. She was used to
being physically abused and insulted.
The husband who always asserted his right over his wife simply by the virtue of being a man cowardly
consumes poison and escapes from the situation whereas his wife who has always been the weak and
submissive one suddenly shows her inner courage by deciding to face the challenge. She embraces life
and not death fully aware of her duty as a mother. The poet uses various phrases like ‘virtuous’, ‘ poor
sinner’, ‘ but I was born with a head bent, release with poison’,’ It takes a moment to die’, etc to bring
out the contrast in characters.

5. The farmer's wife in the poem is….. all of the above.

6. The wife is troubled by the memories of her husband kicking, abusing and reviling her when he was
drunk.

7. The phrase ‘harvest of my womb’ refers to the four children she has borne. Their plight is compared to
‘worm-eaten cotton pods’ because they are now fatherless without anyone to care for them left at the
mercy of fate just like the infested cotton pods which are left at the mercy of the wind.

8. The farmer’s act of committing suicide has pushed her to a pitiable, distressing and death-like condition.

9. The poem ends with the will to survive against all odds.
SUMMARY

The poem is written by P.Lalitha Kumari, a Telugu writer (pen name- Volga) whose stories, novels and poetry
reflect well-articulated feminist status in society representing the ‘reality’ of the female characters.

The poem ‘The Farmer's Wife’ by Volga brings out the plight of the widows of farmers of our country. The
farmer's wife laments over the death of her husband. The poet speaks on behalf of a farmer's wife. The wife is
sad and sorrowful because her husband has committed suicide. He has killed himself by taking poison because
he had borrowed money for his crop but failed to repay the loan due to the failure of his crops.

The farmer’s wife expresses her shock and grief over the helplessness of the situation where her husband’s
death is hailed as a virtuous act of a self-respecting man unable to beg or borrow to take care of his family
rather than that of an irresponsible man who escaped his duties. The wife says that the farmer is considered
virtuous whereas she is a poor sinner left behind to repay the loan before the creditors. The wife says that
being a man, the farmer was not used to being subservient to others. He could not bear the idea of bending his
head or stretching his hand for help. Since his cotton crop was destroyed he decided to cross over from the
world of living to the world of the dead. In contrast to the farmer, the farmer's wife was used to being
submissive and obedient. She questions the farmer saying that how could he leave her behind knowing that
she was used to being weak and dependent. The farmer found release with poison but the poison has actually
ruined (poisoned) the existence of his wife. She is reminded of the struggles which she has faced for her family
over the years whereas the farmer could not bear the loss of his crop which was infested by pests.

The wife is shocked that the farmer who could kick and bully her with the claim of superiority over her, could
give her a death blow by committing suicide. She continues to lament that the debt remained and their dignity
had hit the dust but how could the farmer imagine that her weak back could bear the burden of four children.
She questions the farmer that while he could not see his crop being destroyed, which was only a few months
old, how could he ruin the harvest of her womb. She says that her four children are left behind at the mercy of
fate like the worm-eaten cotton pods.

The wife is very disappointed that her husband had a weak heart and could not analyse the situation and took
the easy way out. He did not have the courage and the firm heart to face the challenges and proved himself to
be a coward. The wife ultimately shows her inner strength and courage and her sense of duty by deciding to
embrace life. She wants to teach her children to face the hardships of life bravely. She wants her children to
learn to fight with clenched fists for not only the basic need of food but also for the struggle of life. The poem is
a tribute to the dauntless spirit of the woman and the plea to the weak-hearted not to lose hope.

The poem showcases the evolving of a woman considered weak and inferior in society to a strong individual
(MOTHER) who willingly accepts life along with all its struggles and sacrifices just for the sake of her four little
children.