Which character in the Rāmāyaṇa thus far do you find the most interesting and why? Give at least 3 specific examples from the book.
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There is a lot happening in the Rāmāyana so far, and a lot of characters of note, but I am still stuck on Sītā. Even in just reading the introduction and watching the videos about the Rāmāyana, I found her whole arc to be fascinating, from the undying loyalty to Rāma to how she responds to Rāma at the end of the Vālmīkī narrative. For one, I think her birth story is absolutely fascinating: how she was “not born from a human womb” but rather was found while her father was “ploughing the sacrificial fields in order to clean them up” (89). I think this clearly sets up how Rāma and Sītā are destined to be together, given that they were both born under unusual circumstances and are likely destined for greatness given the sacrificial nature of their births. I also find her persistence in joining Rāma in his exile compelling. When Rāma comes to inform her what has happened with Daśaratha and Kaikeyī, he puts up a strong argument for why she should not accompany him, including dharma as one of the reasons (133). But still she argues why she should go with him, turning his argument in his face and saying that “when a woman is given away by her father, she stays with her husband…that is her dharma” (134). She is not willing to take no for an answer, and I understand how it is virtuous because of the loyalty in that action, but I like the spunk that she has with it. And she has a similar spunk when she later snaps at Laksmana over not going to help Rāma, telling him “you have no love for your brother” and calling him an “ignoble creature” and “heartless wretch” (231-232). For a lot of the story, she is simply present but not heard. But the times when she is given clear dialogue, it does not fit into this quiet, gentler character that I would expect of the ideal woman in this narrative.