Balancing Punishment And Retribution

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Balancing Punishment and Retribution In the criminal justice system retribution is a form of punishment which is considered to be morally right and fully deserved. In Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Mistress of the Spices, retribution takes on many different forms of punishment for Tilo. These punishments of Tilo become a natural force throughout the novel and is evident from the very beginning of the book as we learn about the tragic circumstances which bring Nayan Tara from her village through her journey to become a Mistress of the Spices and ultimately to Maya. Maya is the final evolution of the character and it is here she finds the one destination she thought she did not need and was unattainable, love, “I need no pitiful mortal man to love. I believe this. Wholly” (Divakaruni 45). There are many different stages of Tilo’s life and in each stage there has been a major life changing event .These life changing events could be seen as a punishment of Tilo for something she has done. Unfortunately these punishments affect more than just Tilo, they also affect everyone around her. The first event encountered is when she is a young girl living in her village. She was appropriately named Nayan Tara, which means Star-seer. Nayan Tara was “gifted” early with the ability to speak and also with the “sight”. This ability won her fame and her family fortune. She becomes bored and begins to act extremely selfish and cruel, “I slapped servant maids if they were slow to my bidding. At mealtimes, I ate the best portions and threw the leavings on the floor for my brothers and sisters” (9). This boredom is something seen over and over throughout the course of her life. It is shortly after this selfish act when the first punishment takes place, the pirates. Nayan Tara’s boredom with all she has leads her to use the “calling thought” without a care of the consequences because in

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