Bad luck or punishment? Spoilers!!!
Was all this a punishment for bad behaviour? Because the mother had treated the aunt so badly and because the sister was stealing all the time? It is hinted upon in the end when Apu finds the beads and the spider runs away from the hiding place. Remember that the film starts with the sister stealing. It is amazing how scary Ray manages to make this scene. It is like looking at a cancer which has been festering all this time an causing all this mishaps, like a symbol of sin. Is this the reason they had a run of bad luck? Ray does how ever never say if it is a punishment or not. He leaves it open for the viewer. And never again in this trilogy will we see such moralisation. The closest we come to it in another of his films is in The Music Room.
Another interesting point. The woman who owns the garden that the sister was always stealing from comes with a basket of fruits to them when they are leaving. Why not give them fruits when they needed help instead of complaining about them and giving them a bad name. So this opens up the question of who committed a bigger sin. :)
- No animal was hurt during the making of this burger -