Nissim Ezekiel’s “Night of the Scorpion” is about a horrible night of the poet’s childhood. In this blog post, I will discuss the following points:

Night of the Scorpion Summary 

A scorpion enters the poet’s house on a rainy night and hides beneath a sack of rice. The scorpion stings his mother.

Soon, the villagers come forward to help her. The peasants come like swarms of flies. They look for the scorpion with candles and lanterns but to no avail. The poet’s mother groans out of sheer pain.

They click their tongues. Upon seeing the suffering of the woman, the villagers associate her pain with her previous birth. They pray that the sins of her last birth might burn away.

They add, “May your suffering decrease/the misfortunes of your next birth”. and “May the poison purify your flesh/ of desire, and your spirit of ambition.”

The number of footfalls increases, but the pain does not decrease. There appear more candles, more lanterns, more neighbors, more insects, and endless rain. His mother keeps rolling and groaning on a mat.

Apart from them, the poet’s father applies medicinal substances to her toe. A holy man also performs his rites to cure the woman. The poet’s mother gets relief after twenty hours. As the pain subsides, she wishers, “Thank God the scorpion picked on me/And spared my children.”

Night of the Scorpion Explanation

The poet recalls a rainy night in his childhood. On that rainy night, it has been raining cats and dogs for ten hours. Consequently, the land gets wet, and a scorpion enters the poet’s house in search of a dry place. Therefore, it takes shelter beneath a sack of rice in the house. 

The setting of the Poem

The setting of the poem is a rural Indian village. Words such as ‘sack of rice, ‘dark room’, ‘candles’, ‘lanterns’, and ‘sun-baked walls’. show the rural setting of the poem. 

If we analyze the situation, we will notice the scorpion has not entered the house to sting the poet’s mother. The rain has been harsh on it. The word ‘risked’ in the line “he risked the rain again.” (168) points out the downpour is not favorable to the scorpion. It goes into the poet’s house because of continuous rain. It enters to save itself from the relentless rain. 

Like any other animal, a scorpion usually uses its venom if it feels threatened or someone provokes it. During the encounter with the poet’s mother, it might have felt threatened, or she provoked it. 

So the woman’s encounter with the scorpion is a coincidence. Had there been no rain, the scorpion would neither hide beneath the sack of rice nor encountered the woman. 

Unfortunately, it stings the toe of the poet’s mother. After leaving its mark on the poor woman’s body, it leaves the house. Before leaving, its ‘diabolic tail’ flashes in the darkroom. 

The poet looks at the scorpion as an evil force. It is a harbinger of pain and misery. Therefore, he addresses it as ‘diabolic’. It suggests his anger as a son at it. From a son’s perspective, it is justifiable. 

After flashing the diabolic tail in the darkroom, it leaves the house silently. But the woman can’t remain silent. She cries out in pain. 

The concern of the neighboring peasants 

Soon the villagers hear about the mishap. They dash to the poet’s house like “swarms of flies” (168). The poet uses a simile to compare the movements of the peasants with the flies. 

They take the name of god in low tones to paralyze the evil scorpion’. They believe their prayer will immobilize the scorpion. Like the poet, the peasants also look at it as an evil being that has afflicted the woman. 

Therefore, to stop the evil scorpion, they search for it with candles and lanterns. While searching on the walls, their shadows look like giant scorpions on the walls. But they don’t find the real scorpion in the house. Thereafter, they click their tongues.

The neighbors want to capture the scorpion because the distance the scorpion covers is proportional to the pain in the woman’s body. When they find nothing, they pray again. The peasants believe that the more he moves, the worse the pain will be. Therefore, they wish the scorpion might sit still.

Some also wish that the poison might cleanse the sins of the poet’s mother. Not only the previous birth, but the poison might also decrease the misfortune of her next birth. They also say that the poison might help her in balancing the sum of all evil and good. 

They also wish the pain might purify the flesh of desire and her spirit of ambition. They seat around on the floor, keeping the suffering woman in the middle. 

They look content, and there is satisfaction in their eyes. On the other hand, the poet’s mother rolls her body in pain. 

It is an irony that reveals the ignorance of the peasants. According to their beliefs, suffering will benefit the poet’s mother. In reality, she moans. They fail to understand the groaning of the poet’s mother. 

At that time, more people throng the poet’s house. The lights bring more insects to the place and the rain keeps continuing. The poet says, 

“More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours,

more insects,” (169)

Nissim Ezekiel. Night of the Scorpion.

It is an example of another poetic device of alliteration. The usage of ‘more’ stresses the repetition of the actions’.

Though the peasants are ignorant and superstitious concerning the situation, we must appreciate the efforts of the innocent villagers. They can’t help her, but they come forward to show support in her hour of need. This is a unique identity of Indian villages. When a family from the community faces a problem, everyone comes forward to help. 

Unlike the urban areas, we mostly see this in rural areas. As they come to know about the poet’s mother, they come forward to help. They come to the house in groups after learning about the scorpion. It is apparent from the poet’s comparison of their movements with the “swarms of flies” (168). 

The reaction of the Poet’s Father 

Unlike the innocent and superstitious villagers, the poet’s father is a rational being. He does not pay to heed to their words. 

The woman keeps groaning. Seeing his wife’s condition, the poet’s father uses “power, mixture, herb and hybrid” (169). He even pours a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and set fire to the toe with a match. 

He hopes it will ease the pain. As a young boy, seeing the fire at his mother’s toe, the poet feels frightened. To him, it looks as if his father is feeding the fire her bitten toe.

Though the father is a rational person, applying paraffin to the mother’s toe is not a rational approach. However, we can consider his attempt. He tries his best as a husband to save his wife in that dire situation. 

A holy man performs his rites simultaneously to tame the poison with an incantation. The peasants believe that the ritual can save her. 

Finally, somehow the woman gets recovery from the excruciating pain. 

The concern of the mother for her children

After twenty hours of acute pain, the poet’s mother gets finally relieved. Her only reaction just after the painful expression is,

“Thank God the scorpion picked on me/And spared my children.” (169)

Nissim Ezekiel. Night of the Scorpion.

She is thankful to God that the scorpion has picked her and has not harmed her children. Here lies the greatness of a mother. A mother will bear the pain and torture with a smiling face, but will not let her children suffer. 

Structure of the Poem 

The poem “Night of the Scorpion” has eight stanzas and is free verse. That means there is no definite rhyme scheme. 

Night of the Scorpion Theme

The theme of “Night of the Scorpion” is the theme of perspective. The poem recounts an incident that occurs on a miserable rainy night. We observe three perspectives on the situation. One is of the peasants, the other is the father and the last is the poet’s mother.

It has been raining severely for ten hours that night. A scorpion comes into the poet’s house to seek shelter from the continuous rain. It hides beneath a sack of rice.

Unfortunately, the scorpion comes into contact with the poet’s mother. As a result, it stings the poet’s mother for some unknown reason, and leaves the house.

As the villagers learn about the mishap, they rush to the poet’s house in groups. The poet compares their movements with that of swarms of flies. When they see the suffering woman, they murmur the name of God. 

Similar to religious people, they also continuously take the name of God many times in critical times. They pray to paralyze the evil scorpion.

They look for the scorpion in the ‘sun-baked walls’ house, but their search goes in vain. They search for the scorpion to capture or immobilize the scorpion.

When they don’t find it, they wish the scorpion wouldn’t go far. They believe that the more the scorpion moves, the more poison will flow into the blood. 

After the failed attempts, their views on the woman changes. They also say that the pain will help to burn the sins of the woman’s previous birth. It will also reduce the sins of her next birth. 

According to Hindu philosophy, a man goes through cycles of birth and death. There are births and deaths. Their statements reflect their views on previous and next birth.

They also think,

“May the sum of all evil/balanced in this unreal world/ against the sum of good/become diminished by your pain.” (Nissim Ezekiel. Night of the Scorpion.)

They wish that the poison might purify her flesh of desire, her spirit of ambition. Hindu philosophy also believes that worldly pleasures and desires contaminate the soul.

Therefore, abstaining away from them is one step closer to the atman. From this point of view, the woman has to pay for her sins through suffering. 

Their attempts show how cultural beliefs and taboos play a role in treating a medical condition in rural India. Some communities view medical conditions as a punishment from the gods or ancestors. We see such a similar behavior in the beliefs of the villagers. They rely on traditional and religious practices to cure such situations.

The lack of education on modern science and healthcare infrastructure, and shortage of doctors and medical facilities in rural areas also contribute to the problem. The villagers lack neither have knowledge nor facilities. Consequently, they including the holy man try the traditional and ineffective remedies.

Unlike them, there is another contradictory view of the same situation. It is the view of rationality. The poet’s father represents the voice of rationality in the poem. 

In the poem, the poet mentions his father as a “sceptic, rationalist”. He uses powder and herbs and also blends different ingredients. Out of desperation, he even pours a little paraffin upon the bitten toe. 

As a rationalist, he thinks believing in the peasants’ beliefs won’t help his wife. Those are mere beliefs that have no grounds to accept. Therefore, he puts his effort and improvises in that critical situation.

Their distinct actions express the contrast between both parties. When the husband is trying his best by using medication and various other herbs. A holy man comes into the house. He performs the rite to cure the toe with an incantation. 

The chanting of the holy man again suggests the lack of medical awareness and limited access to healthcare in rural areas of India. It was common for people in India to have no access to healthcare, for which they turned to superstition instead.

After twenty hours of pain, the poet’s mother gets relieved. We don’t know how she is relieved.

However, unlike the contrasting perspectives, the mother’s perspective on the same situation is interesting. 

Throughout the twenty hours, she suffers from unbearable pain. The poet tells, “My mother twisted through and through,/groaning on a mat.”

After experiencing the pain, she only wishes her children might not feel the same pain. She says,

“Thank God the scorpion picked on me/And spared my children.” Her statement reveals the universal motherly love. She feels gratitude for the scorpion has not harmed her children. She knows how painful it is, therefore she never wants her children to go through it. 

Conclusion

Nissim Ezekiel’s “Night of the Scorpion” is a poem about an incident in the poet’s life’s mother. It is also a poem from different perspectives concerning the same incident. The perspectives of the peasants express their beliefs regarding pain and sins.

Contrary to them, the perspective of the poet’s father expresses the view of a rationalist. Most interesting, the perspective of the poet’s mother reveals a mother’s unconditional love for her children. 

Summary Video

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Video

Works cited

1. Mahanta, Pona, et al., editors. Poems Old and New. Macmillan, 2011, pp. 168-169, 406.
2. Naik, M.K. A History of Indian English Liteature. Sahitya Akademi, pp. 202-203.