07. Library

There was a local library at a short distance from the club. The others specifically chose a club close to a library for Arundhati so she already had its location sent to her phone by Nitish. Tracking the direction shown on the screen Arundhati ambled along the footpath.

The screen displayed a message, You've reached your destination, thanks for using the app. Arundhati turned the phone off and put it inside her pocket. She looked up at the two-storeyed building before her. It had an old vibe to it despite the shining new paint and clean surroundings.

As she stepped inside, Arundhati noticed a board showing the founding date of the library. 14 Srabon, 1979, was written on it. It was even bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. Arundhati strolled around the ground floor looking at all the shelves piled up with different varieties of books. The ground floor mainly had books for educational purposes.

She climbed to the first floor. It was also similar in outlook to the floor below. Bookshelves made of Sal, big wooden windows, marble flooring and rows of long benches and desks for the readers.

Arundhati strolled around this floor too. There were only about five readers scattered at different corners of the room, which was only slightly less than the twelve people she saw downstairs. Amidst the silence of the place the creaking of the fans seemed a little too loud but accompanied by the rustling of the leaves outside and the gentle breeze, it did not feel that unbearable. Rather that serenity was what Arundhati was looking for all this time.

Taking an English fairy tale book from the children's section she found herself in a secluded corner with only herself present. She particularly chose a thick volume so that she would not have to get up for a long time. She lost track of time while browsing through the pages. Her mind was so engrossed in the book in front of her that she did not even realise when another person sat beside her.

Flipping the last page Arundhati finally moved from her initial position and stretched her hands. But her elbow happened to bump into something.

"I'm sorry." She moved back a little.

"It's okay." The stranger beside her replied.

Arundhati nodded and took the book to keep it back when the stranger spoke again.

"Would you mind if I ask you a question?"

"I can't say for sure unless you ask." Came her reply.

"Right, sorry." The stranger chuckled.

"May I ask why you're reading a book on fairy tales? Isn't it meant for children? So why are you reading it as an adult?"

Arundhati assessed the stranger's face for some time. He was not mocking her or anything but simply curious.

"To see why it is meant for kids. Or rather why it's designed in such a way that it would mostly or only attract kids and seem boring or childish to adults."

"And what did you find?" Asked the stranger.

"That it's actually not meant for kids." Was her reply.

"How so?" He asked.

"To me, it's kind of a record. A secret record left by people many years ago to tell the world about the various atrocities prevalent in society at that time. Books meant for adults are screened much more intensely than those for kids. If things are written in such a way that it would only seem as an entertainment and mode of distraction to kids then it is harmless for certain people."

"And what makes you think so?" The stranger asked, interested, intrigued by and curious about Arundhati's point of view.

"I've mostly focused on women so my theory is basically surrounding them." She started.

"Let's just take the example of Cinderella, if we match the timeline of the story with real-life history, we would find that the incidents of the story match in some aspects while do not in others."

"Um... Yes. In the European countries, there were kings and they hosted balls I suppose."

"Yes. But those were only for the nobles to attend. Mass balls like in the story where nobles and peasants were invited altogether were pretty unheard of. Because just think about the political aspect. What would the Prince gain by marrying a peasant woman? But anyway, let's assume that such a ball was indeed organised. Here we see women being sold like commodities from which the customer, that is the Prince, chose one to his liking."

"Because logically, how could a simple ball, where the Prince saw hundreds of women of marriage-able age, danced with just a few among them for just a few minutes be enough to choose a life partner? Oh, that applies only if the chosen woman was considered as a life partner by him and not a pretty decoration in his palace. So we can call them commodities."

"But it's written that he only danced with Cinderella throughout the ball. So they could've gotten to know each other in the meantime."

"Can the Prince really ignore all the noble ladies whose father, brother or any male family member hold important posts in the royal court and dance with a commoner? Just because he found her pretty? He might be the Prince but is it really that simple? And do you think the nobles who sent the ladies in hopes of marrying her off to the royal family sit back silently once they come to learn that the Prince ignored their daughters and chose a petty commoner?" Arundhati raised an eyebrow.

"No, but it's said that Cinderella was so beautiful that everyone confused her for a noble lady." The stranger frowned.

"First of all it wasn't a masquerade ball and secondly given how many tea parties are arranged among the aristocrats is it possible for none of them to recognise an unfamiliar face?"

The stranger fell silent.

Arundhati smiled.

"Hence, we can say that the only reason Cinderella got chosen was because of her external beauty. And once again we come back to her being the most eye-catching commodity."

"Okay, so now if the Prince chooses her as his wife she wouldn't be able to refuse. Because as you said realistically her social standing doesn't give her the right to turn down a royal offer. She would be ridiculed and called arrogant. When maybe the woman just went there to experience the ball which was the talk of the town and already had a lover? But then she would have no other option than to accept the marriage proposal. So her consent doesn't matter." The stranger commented.

Arundhati raised her eyebrows in surprise. The man before her was much more attentive than she had thought. Initially, she planned to stop there if he was just looking for a casual chat but now his eyes shining with excitement was proof that he was really into the conversation.

Nodding she hummed.

"It also seems like the idea that marrying a rich man will solve all your problems was ingrained in young women's minds by society. Otherwise why Cinderella, when getting the chance to escape the house with the help of the fairy godmother, chose to ask for help to get ready for the ball instead? She could have asked for a job or a house of her own far away from her stepfamily."

"She might be afraid of being on her own device?" The man said.

"As if she wasn't on her own device in the house?" Arundhati retorted.

"Not exactly. She worked for them and got fed in return." He said.

"Well, could she not have worked for another family while having a safe roof over her head? Like a maid since she had experience in being one? And an experienced person always has a higher chance of getting hired in jobs." Arundhati said.

"She might not have known that. Or she might have thought that it was impossible to become independent on her own." He said.

"And why did she think so?" Arundhati smirked.

"Because she had always been told that marrying... a rich man... was her... only chance at salvation?" He slowly uttered the words Arundhati sain the beginning.

"There, you got your answer." Her lips curled up again.

"Most importantly if there really was a godmother who was a fairy, why did she not appear before and help Cinderella escape that hellhole of a house? Why come only when she was crying over having nothing to wear to the ball? She could come to make Cinderella done a pretty gown but not to help her out of that place?"