Sita as the Hidden Hero of Ramayana Essay -- Ramayana Essays

Sita as the Hidden Hero of Ramayana Valmikis Ramayana was written around 300 B.C.E. (Carrier 207). Typically, the spirit of Rama is seen as the chock and the character of Sita is seen as the heros wife. In this essay, I will compare Sitas journey of capture and inner growth with the save the kingdom journey of Rama, show how the 2 correlate, and eventually connect in the influential chastity scene. I will also prove that Sita is the hidden hero of this epic even though she is seen as taking a secondary role to Rama and show how this reflects womens secondary roles in society today. To begin our comparisons, we must first look at each character and recognize their separate journeys. Through summarization of the characters and their story, we will begin to see Ramas role and Sitas role. By this process, I will demonstrate how they correlate, differ and combine to wee the Ramayana. Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, is a god known as Vishnu who has been reincarnated and sent to eart h in mortal form. Rama must take an archetypal journey known as the quest. During the quest, a hero must conquer obstacles to save the kingdom (Guerin et.al.154). Ramas obstacle is Ravana, an evil monster who is slowly taking over heaven and earth. Because Ravana never asked for auspices from a human being, he can only be destroyed by a human being and this makes Ramas need for success especially significant (Narayan 5). a the beginning of the narrative, Rama is forced into exile from his kingdom into the forest for 14 years. This exile begins his quest. Sita, Ramas wife, is reincarnation of the goddess Lakshmi, Vishnus spouse in heaven. Sita accompanies Rama into the forest on his quest and is captured by Ravana. Th... ...of society. If women want to take control of their own lives and are tired of provingthemsleves to others, they must first find a voice and then act upon their convictions, otherwise these sex roles will never change. Works Cited Carrier, Warren, ed. Guide t o World Literature. Illinois National Council of Teachers of English, 1980. Guerin, Wilfred L., et.al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. newly York Oxford University Press, 1992. OFlaherty, Wendy Doniger. Hindu Myths. London Penguin Books, 1975. Singh, Khushwant. India an Introduction. New Delhi Vision Books, 1990. Valmiki. The Ramayana. Trans. Aubrey Menen. New York Charles Scribers Sons, 1954. ---. The Ramayana. Trans. R.K. Narayan. New York Penguin Books, 1972. ---. The Ramayana. Trans. Elizabeth Seeger. New York William R. Scott, Inc., 1969.