character sketch of Nomita in Matchbox
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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.
Nomita is from a poor family who is married to a rich person named Ajit. Like any typical Indian married woman, she is a housewife who is destined to sacrifice her own wishes and hopes. Nomita confines herself to the kitchen and does not know what a happy life is. But, she does not allow anyone to trample upon her dignity.
Nomita receives letters often from her mother asking her to get some money from her husband and send it across. Ajit opens all these letters and reads them before passing them to Nomita. Although she loves her husband, this infuriates Nomita and she retaliates. However, her husband does not pay attention. Slowly, she loses control and after suppressing herself for a long time, she lights up the end of her sari. She wants to break off the bonds of marital slavery. Though she appears as a pleasant and meek woman who always smiles at others, she is actually exploding inside like a volcano. Like a matchbox, when Nomita finds herself helpless, she burns with anger.