Symbol: The Locked Door
As the mock trial begins to shift from fictional to the real and zero in on specifics related to Benare’s life, she grows increasingly anxious. Finally reaching a breaking point at this intrusion into reality from what seemed to be just a game, Benare urgently tries to flee, but she discovers, to her horror, that the only exit is a door that has been locked from the outside. This door becomes symbolic of her larger inability to escape the persecution of the judgmental, traditionally conservative society represented by the rest of the group. Benare herself may also be a symbol: a symbol of the new, modern Indian woman emancipated from the grasp of the past—but that doesn’t mean she has escaped the past.
Symbol: The Sparrow’s Nest
There is a featured song in the play that tells a story about a conversation between a sparrow and a parrot. The sparrow is sorrowful because, as it explains to the parrot, someone has stolen her nest. A bird’s nest serves two functions that take on symbolic significance: it is the safe place called home, as well as the site where eggs are laid and nurtured into chicks. The song becomes symbolic of the theft of the safety of privacy which Benare no longer enjoys. It also indicates the fictional charge against the defendant—infanticide—along with the punishment of her sentencing for being found guilty: enforced abortion.
Motif: Silence!
The use of the exclamation point in the title is no mere gimmick. The command to remain silent is pervasive throughout, starting with the title. The judge constantly cautions Benare to be silent when she interrupts testimony. He wields the same power to silence his wife when she begins to voice her opinions. The ending of the play has Benare lying lifeless on the floor in silence.
Symbol: The Parrot
The parrot that Samant places on the ground before the immobile Benare at the end of the play may symbolize Benare's silencing in terms of original, iconoclastic thought and behavior. Now, she can only parrot others, repeating their sentiments, norms, and behavior.
Motif: Power of the "Uniform"
Both Sukhatme and Kashikar embrace the trappings of their faux professions—a gown and a wig, respectively. When they put those on, they clearly seem more powerful, more confident, more comfortable persecuting and prevaricating. The uniform—as seen with soldiers, police, SS members, guards, etc.—cloaks individuality and promotes a sense of invincibility due to the power of the office the uniform represents.
