Sita
So far, Sita seems to be the most intriguing for me. The main thing about her is this: she is a woman who is a model for women who hear or read the Ramayana. The ways in which women are portrayed and treated in texts as old as time are a sure way to have a looking-glass into the gendered relationships of that culture in a point in time. She feels that she must go with Rama in his exile, sharing his lot in life. She sees the dangers of exile in the forest, claiming to view them "like virtues" (page 136). Sita, if separated from Rama, would die. Even at the hand of Indra, when she is with Rama, "no one can harm [her]" (page 136). Sita, in the Ramayana, has a place to be, with her husband. This is the way in which women are portrayed as virtuous in the text. She also seems to want to be a renouncer, as her views of the forest ascetic women is positive.
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