REVISITING SVETOZAR PETROVIĆ’S READING OF TAGORE’S THE HOME AND THE WORLD: A SYNOPTIC OVERVIEW

This essay looks into Svetozar Petrović’s reading of Rabindranath Tagore’s novel The Home and the World and his related essays to understand his interpretations of Tagore and his works of prose fiction. It focuses on Petrović’s perspectives and incorporates a couple of early literary criticisms, which emerged after the publication of The Home and the World in 1919, and refers to some important recent readings of the novel to provide an enriching account of the discussion surrounding the novel. The essay delves into the novel’s concerns regarding the issues of borders and boundaries, their attendant rhetoric of violence and the questions of tensions and conflicts across cultures, which continue to impact human existence in various ways. It suggests that Petrović’s analysis has transnational relevance. Furthermore, this essay will glean from some of Tagore’s fictional and non-fictional prose to support the argument.