Explorations in Religious Identity (RE 300 WR)

I believe we've all seen this issue in the Ramayana, but it is still worth stressing: the treatment of women in this tale is absolutely abhorrent, and it only gets worse as the story continues and then finally concludes. For example, throughout Sīta's time being Rāvana's captive, she remains loyal to Rāma. However, Rāvana is so caught up in his own lust for Sīta that he cannot see reason, insisting that "The more a man tries to please a woman, the more he falls into her power... The more he speaks sweetly, the more she insults him" (348). I mean, if I were in Sīta's position, of COURSE I would be resistant to the person who captured me and kept me away from my spouse! Unfortunately, the awful treatment doesn't end there: despite Sīta's loyalty, Rāma himself, who is supposedly the epitome of dharma and all things good and powerful, shuns her once she is finally free from the rāksasa, causing her to walk into fire (490-491). Sīta is pronounced pure and survives, however, but the fact that Rāma treated Sīta so cruelly for something she had no control over is vile! I cannot begin to imagine the affect that this story has had on women, showing them as submissive objects or as wicked villains. This story is clearly from a rich man's perspective and is therefore beneficial primarily to rich men.