VEILS AND POWER: FEMALE AGENCY IN THE MUGHAL COURT IN ALEX RUTHERFORD’S THE SERPENT’S TOOTH

Abstract

A complex depiction of women's lives within the power laden Mughal court may be found in Alex Rutherford's The Serpent's Tooth, which is a part of the Empire of the Moghul series. The paper explores the relationship between female autonomy in the story and veiling, both literally and metaphorically. Although the purdah regime supposedly limited women's freedom of movement and public appearance, Rutherford's portrayal shows how royal ladies cleverly got around the restrictions to exert control over dynastic, familial, and political issues. People like Nur Jahan, who used courtly networks, patronage, and persuasion to influence imperial policies, stand out as crucial examples of subtly but decisively intervening. As a result, the veil takes on a dual meaning as a shield that permits clandestine power struggles and a weapon of patriarchal control. The paper highlights the intersections of gender, space, and authority in imperial contexts by placing Rutherford's fabricated stories within a larger Mughal historiography through a literary historical lens. In the end, the analysis shows that veiled women in the Mughal court were not passive subjects but rather engaged agency in ways that reshaped the limits of legitimacy and power.