Something
that really stuck out to me within this reading section was the treatment of
Tara by her husband Vali. It reminded me
of the story of Ahalya because of how both were treated unfairly. Although the book never explicitly states that
Ahalya was punished because she was a woman, I feel that it definitely made the
difference in her having such a severe punishment. Like Ahalya, Tara is also discredited because
she is a woman. She tries to warn Vali
to not be too rash about fighting his brother Sugreeva, but he basically
ignores her insight because she is a woman.
I decided to write about this because I feel that it is a common theme
within the Ramayana.
Some
of my favorite lines include:
“‘Oh
foolish creature, you are betraying a woman’s intelligence and a gossiping tongue...I
know more about Rama—more than you do,’” (Narayan 98).
“He
looked at it and brooded over his own recklessness in castigating his wife for
mentioning Rama’s name. That poor
creature showed better judgment than he,’” (Narayan 100).
The
first quote shows Vali’s complete disregard to Tara’s knowledge on the
situation because she is a woman. I’m
almost certain that if she was a male character, her warning would have been
taken seriously or at least more serious than it is currently. Similarly, the second quote also discredits
Tara. Even though, both Vali and the
narrator have realized that she was ultimately right, the narrator still refers
to her as a “creature.” By doing this,
Tara is still referred to as something less than human.
Painting of Tara by Raja Ravi Varma, Source: Wikimedia
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