GENDER POWER DYNAMICS IN INDIAN MYTHOLOGY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SELECT GRAPHICS NARRATIVES THROUGH THE LENS OF SUSAN LANCER’S FEMINIST NARRATOLOGY

Abstract

Investigating the analysis of the power difference between male and female characters represented in Indian mythology is important in understanding the broader ramifications of gender representation in modern tales. The analysis of Indian mythology is mostly critiqued and focussed on the patriarchal model in which male characters hold the positions of power while female characters hold some degree of subservience. The paper will examine how select graphic narratives reconfigure the power relations, subverting or reinforcing the gender roles through the lens of Susan Lancer’s Feminist Narratology. The significance of these retellings, highlighted as ‘feminist retellings’, open up a site for some new means to revisit traditional stories, myths and ideologies to question and critically examine the nature and force of patriarchal injunctions (Bhat, 2021). The paper discusses specific examples of graphic narratives depicting female characters from Indian mythology, particularly Sita and Draupadi. From the grounded reading of the select texts, the paper aims to examine the representations that are usually interpreted to negotiate and articulate power dynamics and reflect values in contemporaray society. This analysis will examine the power dynamics built through these characters and how they are re-shown in present-day retellings.