Gender Dynamics in Volga’s The Liberation of Sita

Abstract

The traditional male narratives in The Ramayana and The Mahabharata defines the roles and responsibilities of women. These male-centred narratives treats women as symbols of honour, property, or prizes for male warriors. Existence of women is valued in their  relationship to men.Women were idealized as dutiful wives, devoted mothers, and self-sacrificing daughters. Epics reinforced the idea that a woman’s virtue lay in obedience, chastity, and service and they are subjected to tests and trials when they deviated expected norms of the society, . A woman’s honour is  tied to the honor of her husband/family, unlike men, whose worth came from bravery and strength. Women in traditional epics were rarely decision-makers. Their roles revolved around supporting male heroes—waiting, suffering, or sacrificing for them. By glorifying submissive women, epics have set models for generations: women should be loyal like Sita, patient like Draupadi, forgiving like Gandhari, or nurturing like Kunti. This normalized gender inequality by presenting it as “ideal womanhood”. Traditional male narratives in epics confined women to roles of obedience, chastity, and service, defining their responsibilities in relation to men, rather than as independent individuals. Women were expected to embody virtues that upheld patriarchal order, making them instruments for sustaining male honour and authority. This paper analyzes how Volga portrays female characters as individuals who defy the norms and rules of the male-dominated society and make  choices, and guide one another. Women find empowerment in sisterhood—challenging patriarchal divisions.