Read the passage.
As Nagendra traveled downriver by boat, a fierce storm drove
him to shore. While looking for shelter from the lashing rain, he
came upon a dilapidated house where he found a girl of thirteen,
Kunda Nandini, and her dying father. Unable to locate Kunda's
aunt in Calcutta, Nagendra wrote to his wife Surja Mukhi for
assistance.
excerpt from The Poison Tree: A Tale of Hindu Life in
Bengal by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
The Poison Tree documents the experiences of Nagendra, a
wealthy landowner, his wife, Surjamukhi, and an orphan girl,
Kunrda Nandini, who Nagendra brings home with him after a trip
to Calcutta. Hindu life in Bengal in the late nineteenth century
was grounded in the caste system, a social practice that placed
every member of society into one of four castes. Each individual
within a caste had a designated role in society.
Surja Mukhi's reply to Nagendra's letter came in a few days. It
was after this manner:
"In picking up a little girl, have you forgotten me? Many unripe
things are esteemed. People like green guavas, and green
cucumbers; green cocoa-nuts are cooling. This low-born female
Why is Tara unmarried, despite his connections and his good
standing in the community?
Select each correct answer.
Tara is committed to human rights and to equal rights
for women. These values are not shared by his
community, so he appears strange and many avoid
him.
Because of his beliefs, Tara has no interest in
marriage. While his culture values family life, he
rejects those conventions and wants to pursue his
work as a teacher and writer.
Tara must have consent from Surja in order to marry.
He has not married because Tara has not found a
woman that Surja will approve as a wife.
Surja wants Tara to marry a woman from his own
social class, or caste, Kaystha. However, because of
his mother's history, no suitable and respectable
brides will agree to marry him