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The novel has several themes:
1. Problems due to caste segregation:
People of different vocation and their
respective castes represent the village.
Datadin, the Brahmin priest represents the
uppermost caste; he exploits the lower
caste villagers with his various religious
sanctions. Hori [peasant], Bhola
[cowherd], Seliya [a cobbler's daughter]
represent the various hierarchies of lower
castes in the caste system that exists in
India.
2. Exploitation of the lower class:
Premchand has drawn a realistic picture
of the poor peasants exploited by the
village zamindar and the greedy
moneylenders. The zamindars collected
the revenue and imposed fine. Here, Rai
Saheb fined Hori for the death of the cow,
though he did not kill it. The peasants are
unable to pay the debts in time and it gets
multiplied with the passage of time. They
are caught in a debt trap and they suffer, like Hori, until their end. The author is
advocating the need to end the feudal
system that existed in the country.
. Exploitation of women: the women
characters Dhania, Jhunia, Seliya and
Roopa are exploited by the men they love.
. Problems due to industrialisation:
Industrialists who exploit labourers,
migration of youngsters from the villages
to cities, and conflicts in cities.
. Interpersonal relationships, Love, and
marriage: Premchand as a progressive
writer envisages a modern India where
love and inter-caste marriages would
thrive. We have the inter-caste marriages
of Gobar and Jhunia, Mataadin and
Seeliya and that of the educated pair,
Rudra Pratap and Saroj. The marital
relationship of Mr. Khanna and his wife is
strained as he lacks love and respect for
her. Mr. Mehta and Miss Malati have
serious thought provoking discussions on
the issues of love, the institution of
marriage, the relation of man and woman
and womanhood. They represent the voice 6. Political scenario of the period: The
country was fighting for its liberation from
colonial powers. It was the period for the
growth and development of different
parties and ideologies. Premchand,
through the novel, expresses his stand as
a socialist. Socialism is a panacea for all
kinds of discrimination and exploitation.
The narrative represents the average Indian
farmer's existence under colonial rule, with the
protagonist facing cultural and feudal
exploitation. It shows how the life of these
characters takes shape.
