Heroism In Mary Frere's Short Story 'Punchkin'

“But in the afternoon, it being very hot, the seven Princesses all fell asleep, and when he saw they were fast asleep, the Rajah, their father stole away and left them (for he feared his wife), saying to himself, ‘It is better that my poor daughters should die here, than be killed by their stepmother.’” (Punchkin, p.3).

The short story Punchkin, written by Mary Frere, is a tale of heroism directed towards the 18th century audience. More specifically, the audience is women due to the fact that the speaker is a woman as well who portrays a feministic theme in the tale. This quote is found in the point of the story where the Ranee, Rajah’s new wife, manipulates the Rajah, to murder the princesses, which establishes a transition to the next part of the story. Although this quote helps develop the story, it

The events in the quote happen quickly and are structured in a series of actions separated by a comma. These actions start with a happy note and slowly progress to hostile one with the introduction of the male. The actions gradually get shorter and use stronger words such as “fast”, “stole”, and “left” compared to the softer words such as “fell asleep” that is associated with the princesses, reiterating the concept that men bring an air of negativity and have a destructive nature.

Furthermore, Frere uses the character of the stepmother to depict women as powerful. For instance, the Ranee controls the Rajah despite him being the ruler of the land. The quote blatantly shows this control through the side comment “for he feared for his wife.” This in turn displays weakness on the part of the Ranee through his inability to stand up for his family. Frere also reiterates that the Rajah is the father, despite it being common knowledge for the reader. His fatherhood is emphasized to display his willingness to go against his paternal instincts and abandon his daughters for fear of his