Post Master as a short story :

In The Postmaster by Rabindranath Tagore we have the theme of

loneliness, happiness, gratitude, connection, memories and guilt.
Taken from his Collected Stories collection the story is narrated in the
first person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the
reader realises that Tagore may be exploring the theme of loneliness.
The postmaster finds it unbearably lonely living in the village. He has
very little work to do and his mind wanders to the idea that perhaps he
should find himself a wife. Despite Ratan being an ideal choice for
the postmaster. The postmaster never looks upon Ratan as anything
more than being someone who can do odd jobs for him. This may be
important as Tagore may be suggesting that if the postmaster looked
upon Ratan in a different light he may no longer be lonely and he
could also possibly be happy. It is also noticeable that the
postmaster’s loneliness fades when he is speaking to Ratan and she is
discussing her family life. However despite this the postmaster still
does not imagine himself marrying Ratan. It is as though he considers
her to be a class beneath him and not fit to be his wife. However the
reader is also aware that the postmaster does not have many women
coming to visit his home who might be prepared to do the same work
as Ratan.
It is also interesting that the postmaster when ill relies heavily on
Ratan yet at no stage does he show her any sort of gratitude. The only
sign of appreciation that the postmaster shows Ratan throughout the
story is when he hands Ratan his month’s salary. Something that
Ratan feels insulted by. This may be important as it highlights that
Ratan was not working for the postmaster for money but she had
grown fond of him and hoped that he had grown fond of her. How
fond Ratan actually is of the postmaster is also noticeable by the fact
that she refuses to work for the new postmaster. She longs to continue
the connection she had with the postmaster who in a moment of
madness has resigned his position from the post office. He has no
plans for his future yet Ratan still wants to be part of his life. If
anything Ratan shows the postmaster the dedication that a wife would
show a husband yet the postmaster is too blind to see this. He is more
occupied with his dissatisfaction of having to work so far away from
the city.
It might also be important that the postmaster is able to speak freely
when he is speaking to Ratan. He does not feel emotionally
embarrassed when he is talking about his family. Something that he
would feel should he speak to the men in the factory about his family.
Tagore may be highlighting the differences in conversation between
men and women and those between men talking to men. The
postmaster is at ease when he discusses his family with Ratan. It is as
though she understands the postmaster. Ratan too has memories of her
family which she readily shares with the postmaster. It is as though
the postmaster learns everything about Ratan’s life though at the same
time never views her as anything more than the girl who does his odd
jobs. Despite it being Ratan who treats the postmaster when he is sick.
Just as a mother would do. The postmaster cannot see pass the fact
that Ratan is just the girl who does his odd jobs. He is looking for
love yet love is standing straight in front of him in the form of Ratan.
The end of the story is also interesting as Tagore appears to be
exploring the theme of guilt. While on the boat the postmaster thinks
about Ratan and thinks about going back to the village to get her.
However his thoughts are based more on guilt than on helping Ratan
in any way. Something that is noticeable when the sails pick up the
wind and the postmaster soon forgets about Ratan. Ratan on the other
hand cannot forget about the postmaster. It is as though she has not
only lost a friend but she has lost someone she has fallen in love with.
Tagore highlighting that it will take some time for Ratan’s wounds to
heal and for her to forget about the postmaster. However she will
forget about the postmaster and she will grow attached to somebody
else. Somebody who might also abandon her. Leaving Ratan to make
the same mistakes over and over again. All because she wants to feel
connected and loved by another human being. A very normal instinct
for anybody to have. However life sometimes does not work out as
simply as we would like it to. Though the postmaster might have seen
the complications of starting a relationship with Ratan. Ratan herself
sees none. She is a good strong woman who is looking to be loved by
the right man. The postmaster was not the right man because he
viewed Ratan as being no more than the girl who did odd jobs for
him.