Poverty and class
"The Shroud" depicts a poor family of a low caste in India in the 1930s. On the one hand, the author depicts the protagonists, Ghisu and Madhav, as awful, lazy, and to blame for their predicament. There is no shortage of work in the village, yet the father and son simply do not want to work. On the other hand, the narrator expresses some sympathy for their situation, attributing it to the highly unequal and unjust class system in which they live. The narrator remarks that Ghisu and Madhav's attitude is no surprise given that they live in a society where poor peasants who do back-breaking labor are in no better shape than they are. Finally, "The Shroud" offers a reflection on poverty as a cycle and a trap. Ghisu's son, Madhav, has taken his father's attitude to an even greater extreme. After their feast at the wine-house, the men will presumably awaken to the same miserable situation. The only thing that has changed is that now Madhav, just like his father, will have the memory of a feast he will likely never be able to experience again.
Selfishness
Overall, the narrator depicts Ghisu and Madhav as selfish. They do just enough work to get by. They take advantage of Budhiya's hard labor and then leave her to die alone in childbirth. They do not try to comfort or help her. The characters' self-serving attitudes reach a climax in the story's final scene. They beg for money for Budhiya's funeral, but in the end choose to spend the money to satisfy their own desires, by buying food and alcohol at the wine-house.
Gender
In this short story, Premchand explores gender roles through the main characters' treatment of Budhiya. After Madhav and Budhiya marry, Budhiya works very hard grinding grain and cutting grass in the village. In this way, she is able to feed Madhav and Ghisu. Traditional gender roles dictate that she must feed the men. Yet she also takes on the responsibility of providing for the household financially. In response, Ghisu and Madhav only grow lazier. Budhiya's suffering reaches a high point as she struggles to give birth. The men leave her alone to moan with pain and die.
Religious hypocrisy
"The Shroud" explores the theme of hypocrisy in religion. In Ghisu and Madhav's society, the upper classes are often associated with priesthood and religious purity. In this society, people are willing to give great sums of money to the upper caste for religious rituals and festivals. Yet Ghisu and Madhav portray the wealthy as hypocrites since they exploit poor people and then act as if they can repent for this cruel behavior through religious rituals.
