Volume-II, Issue-III, February 2026
Novel Insights A Peer-Reviewed Quarterly Multidisciplinary Research Journal |
Volume-II, Issue-III, February 2026 |
The Narrative Voice of Sita in Contemporary Re-tellings of The Ramayana Richa Sarma, Research Scholar, Dept. of English, Assam Don Bosco University, Assam, India Dr. Pritam Priya Goswami, Asst. Prof, Dept. of English, Assam Don Bosco University, Assam, India Email: richanarurian44@gmail.com |
Received: 23.10.2025 | Accepted: 30.11.2025 | Published Online: 28.02.2026 |
Page No: | DOI: 10.69655/novelinsights.vol.2.issue.03W.0 | |
Abstract | ||
The Ramayana has endured through time as a leading South Asian epic which defines feminine values through Sita's character. Throughout centuries Sita has received praise for her chastity and obedience yet her personal voice remains suppressed by patriarchal interpretations. This paper analyzes Sita's first-person narrative in The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Sitayana by Amit Majmudar to show how she uses her voice to challenge and reinterpret her story in contemporary re-tellings. The canonical Ramayana presents a predominantly patriarchal structure which frequently hides or removes Sita's direct voice. The study bases its analysis on the female and revisionist perspectives which appear in these contemporary works. The authors use different narrative approaches to create Sita's voice in their works. Divakaruni uses a confessional first-person perspective to create an emotionally powerful Sita who expresses her silenced emotions and experiences. Majmudar uses a performative and folkloric narrative style to present Sita's suffering and moral strength through a polyphonic structure that de-centered Rama's heroism. The two narratives work together to give Sita control over her voice which enables her to express her feelings, mental and emotional power against the traditional moral code of the epic. Sita's narrative voice in these reinterpretations serves as a cultural tool for negotiating traditional values. The research demonstrates how contemporary Ramayana reinterpretations create a continuous dialogue between mythological traditions and feminist perspectives and traditional beliefs and contemporary values and suppressed voices and vocal expressions. Keywords: Sita’s Narrative Voice, Feminist Retellings of the Ramayana, Patriarchal Interpretation, Myth Reinterpretation in Contemporary Literature, Female Agency in Epic Literature | ||