Explorations in Religious Identity (RE 300 WR)

I am really curious about Rāma’s love and devotion to Sīta.  It is clear that he certainly loves her, and that is made especially apparent in this section of the story where we hear of his response to their separation.   Even just in the beginning of this excerpt, he says the loveliness of their surroundings just “sharpens [his] sorrow at the separation from Sīta” (255).  And he takes a break from this by helping Sugriva, but once they kill Vali, Rāma is right back where he was: “tormented with grief” (285).  When Hanuman has later found Sīta, he even gives a very detailed description of just how distraught and broken Rāmaa is over her abduction and separation from him (363).  I guess my question is how can he later question her purity to the point of banishing her once they are reunited?  I know we haven’t gotten there in the reading yet, but the introduction and the lecture videos and other summaries we have discussed all tell of how Rāma rejects her and claims that the sole reason he fought this war was to vindicate his honor.  But, these descriptions of how affected Rāma is by the separation from his wife do not display a man who is simply trying to do his duty and right the wrongs done to him.  That just does not make sense in my mind, and maybe that articulates that Rāma truly was just rejecting Sīta out of dharmic necessity, but that does not add up.