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Norton's version of Valmikis Ramayana had several leading female roles which included the following- Sita, Kaikeyi, Kausulya, Supranahka, and a variety of Ravana's demo nesses. Of these, Sita had the prominent role throughout the story. Each of these characters played an important role to the story line. The female characters role throughout the story is of love and compassion to their male counterparts.
I will concentrate on several of them- the mothers Kaikeyi, Kausulya, Sita, and certain demo nesses. Both Kaikeyi and Kausulya are portrayed as loving mothers of their respective sons, Bharat and Rama. Kaikeyi took the opportunity for her own self-interests to get her own son the kingdom. This action protected her from Rama and gave her more power to establish a matriarch. Her role within the story is limited, yet her self-interest gave way for the storyline to develop. Kaikeyi comes across to me as a jealous, power-hungry person because of her actions.
Kaikeyi is perceived the same way by other characters within the story with the exception of Rama who though this was the will of the divine. On the other hand, Ramas natural mother Kausulya is portrayed as a loving mother of her only son. She could not let Rama go through the ordeal of living like a hermit. When she tells Rama of the pain and anguish she suffered from the King and other wives, the reader would feel sorry for her.
She had the one chance to live a life of comfort and that was abruptly pulled away briskly on the eve of Ramas coronation to the throne. When she realized Rama could not be convinced to change his mind, Kausulya gave praise to her son for standing up to Kaikeyi's wishes. Also, she prayed for his safety and success. Another common feature that Kausulya depicts, like the other female characters, is the recurring love and compassion theme. Sita is the central female character of the story. Right from her first words in this version of the Ramayana, I could tell her immense love for Rama...
without you, even heaven is hell. (Pg. 901). Throughout their adventures, Sita shows displays her love and faithfulness to Rama. She comes across to the reader as a bit arrogant and demanding, yet still abiding to the marriage with Rama. She does not fall under anyones influence so she could not be led astray from her virtue to her husband. When Sita encountered Ravanas, she would not fall for him during her time with the demon. One of the footnotes stated her placing a blade of grass between Ravanas and herself: The magical power of Sita's virtue allows her to use even a blade of grass as an effective barrier between herself and her abductor. (Pg. 915) This alone shows how powerful her faith is with respect to her relationship with Rama.
When the story is closing out, Sita is revealed to be Laksmi, Virus (disguised as Rama) eternal mate. Lastly, the demo nesses (Supranahka, Ravana's demo nesses) follow the same theme. At first, when the reader finds that they are demo nesses, the initial reaction to them would be that they are evil. Yet, when we read that Supranahka wants to be loved and on the lookout for a soul mate, the main characters vilify her. When she could not persuade Rama to leave Sita, her engagement with the situation gets her to seek help from her brothers.
In Lanka, Ravana's mistresses and demo nesses all loved him. They could not bear to hear ill-conceived comments from anyone about Ravanas. In conclusion, the Ramayana acts as a guide to the readers. The traits that the females hold in the story are a guideline to the readers. This culture is somewhat existent in India, for I have personally seen women being loyal, subservient, faithful, loving, and compassionate towards their husbands.
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Research essay sample on Ravana Demo Nesses Role Throughout The Story Rama
