The melodramatic novel is centered on Nirmala, a young girl who was forced to marry a widower of her father's age.

A poignant novel first published between 1925 and 1926, Nirmala's reformist agenda is transparent in its theme which deals with the question of dowry, and consequently mismatched marriages and related issues.

Nirmala is somewhat like Godaan (published in 1936) in that it deals with the exploitation of the village poor, and Nandita (2016) in similarities of being shackled by society's narrow expectations of how a woman should be.

He once tells a false story that he killed two thieves who had big swords with them to make her feel that her husband is full of bravery.

It was not long before Totaram grew suspicious of Nirmala due to his widow sister, Rukmini's words and her relationship with his son Mansaram.

[1] Depressed by the sad turn of events and her own failing health, Nirmala gave her daughter Asha to Rukhmini and died.

[4][5] Set against a background of pre–independent India, Nirmala depicts a realistic and picturesque portrait of the 1920s, the language and milieu of the era.

[7] It characterises the evils of the dowry system, and in doing so reflects the author's desire to bring about social reform and raise the status of women in society.

The author's words illustrate his country's poor, and paints a picture of rural India consisting largely of a static society, the clashes of castes, its poverty and exploitation, and the rich character of its people.

Nirmala is a reflection of a time in Indian society when a young girl's "greatest sin was to require a husband who would accept her without a dowry".

[9] [Nirmala is] a tale of woman's tragedy [...] — which nevertheless rises above the usual limitations of a roman a these in its dramatisation of very specific and highly individualised private lives [and] makes its appeal on a basis of universal human experience that transcends any local peculiarities of customs or culture.

He further explained that Premchand specialised in subjects that revolved around a young girl under 18 years old who suddenly becomes a woman after marrying a man who is much older.

[15] Many films based on the story's theme were also produced, such as Tehreer Munshi Premchand Ki directed by Gulzar and shown in Doordarshan.