One consistent theme throughout the Rāmāyana that I am having trouble wrapping my head around is the treatment of women- or, rather, the mistreatment of women. Women are consistently looked down upon by men, especially their husbands, even though they still express love towards them. For example, when Kausalyā was overwhelmed with grief after her son Rāma was banished, Daśaratha scolded her for being a cruel wife instead of offering her comfort (158). Sīta is also belittled by Rāma and Laksmana throughout their time in the forest, simply because they view her as weak and soft because she is a women. As the story reaches one of its major plot points, Rāvana, desiring revenge on Rāma, decides to capture Sīta in order to get back at Rāma (224). It is as if Sīta is little more than an extension of Rāma, a valuable object that can be tossed around at will. It is disheartening to see Sīta, Kausalyā, and other women in the story treated with such little regard to their lives.
Gale, I have similar problems with the text. I think coming from a western, feminist perspective really sparks my righteous condemnation for the text. I find myself struggling to reconcile the fact it is an ancient text with my own modern understanding of femininity. Also, I have to remind myself how young Rama and Laksmana are in the beginning of the book; it helps a little to remind myself that maybe some of their remarks are just stupid teenage boy teasing...but that does not make it much better.
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Yes this is definitely a consistent narrative in the Ramayana in my opinion because so many things occur that cause the degradation of women. Most of the time it is intentional as well which is something that is also not good as well.
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Hey, I also don't get how looking down upon women is a valuable trait. As I am reading the narrative I keep trying to understand the context of history alongside it. However, that does not explain how it is perceived by women today. I wonder how they feel about Sita being demeaned by Rama.
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