Re Visioning Women of Indian Mythology in Contemporary Indian English Women s Writing

Abstract

This thesis proposes to examine the ways in which certain popular Indian mythical characters and their actions are retold in contemporary Indian English fiction to demarcate and construct feminist revisionist issues, using six works by three authors as a focus. The selected retellings are re-visioned versions of The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. The retellings of The Ramayana are: Sita s Sister by Kavita Kane (2014), The Liberation of Sita by Volga (2016), Lanka s Princess by Kavita Kane (2016). The retellings of The Mahabharata are: Karna s Wife by Kavita Kane (2013), The Kaunteyas by Madhavi S. Mahadevan (2016), and The Fisher Queen s Dynasty by Kavita Kane (2017). newlineMythology constitutes a significant part of the tradition followed by a society. These myths, when perpetuated, play an important role in shaping the perspective and the cognitive capacities of a society as a whole. They become a model for the society to follow, and individuals are conditioned, persuaded or forced to derive their ideals and principles from them. Thus, mythology can play a major role in forming and reforming the society if interpreted in a progressive or regressive manner. Since the Indian society is primarily patriarchal, our epics and mythologies also reflect and advocate patriarchal ideals. As a result, the status of the women characters remains secondary in our epics, either portrayed as helpless, naïve, and docile, or selfish, manipulative, and greedy, or completely neglected in the text. To a contemporary woman reader, this reading sends a regressive and erroneous message: that the status of women in the society is supposed to remain minor, subordinate, and inferior. newlineThe word revision may be meant as a reinterpretation of any text, be it literary, historical, or mythological. Different critics and authors have defined revisionism according to the needs of the hour as well as their literary principles. However, the term revision is often considered as a pejorative term and many critics state that revisionists are manipulating