Question

character sketch of Nomita in Matchbox​

Answer 1

Nomita is a woman who was brought up in a poor family. Her mother managed to marry her into a wealthy family because Nomita was very beautiful. Nomita is ashamed of her humble background. She does like her mother asking her husband to help her financially. She feels humiliated about this. Nomita does not enjoy any freedom and even her letters are read by her husband before being delivered to her if at all they are delivered. She is not meek however and protests her husband’s habit of reading her letters. She is not afraid of her husband and frightens him by setting her saree on fire. However she is not interested in letting her family members’ know about their problems.

Although Nomita has the power to change her plight, she cannot do this as she is concerned about her husband’s image in front of other people. Thus the author says that Nomita is just like a matchbox with the potential to burn, but does not burn after all. Nomita can solve her problems if she makes up her mind to expose her husband to her family members. At the end of the story Nomita decides to try and help her mother out of her poverty. This shows her concern and kindness for her mother.