Sita

Sita At first glance in The Ramayana, Sita seems like the 'Ideal Indian Woman'. The reader sees her as victimized and oppressed, a woman who obeyed her husband's commands. She followed him, remained faithful to him, served her in-laws or yielded to parental authority, had to prove her innocence, and generally did her duty- whether she wanted to or not. Yet, as you look deeper, you see a more unconventional Sita. She was frank, had the ability to express herself freely, and asserted herself whenever she wanted to get her way. Sita fell for the allure of the golden deer. She spoke harsh words but took the words back. Sita loved her husband, was faithful to him, did not get taken in by the charm and material objects in Ravana's palace, faced an angry and suspicious husband, and tried to appease him. Sita was passive and at most times subversive, but not at the same time. The first encounter readers have with Sita, as might be expected, is her marriage to Rama. As is typical with Indian society, her marriage is arranged by her father. The compliant Sita passively accepts her fate, leaves her father's home and acknowledges her new "lord." Sita’s first clear act of will comes when she insists to go into the forest with Rama. “I’m dressed and ready as you see…I’m coming with you; my place is at your side wherever you may be…I could as well be dead. It will be living death for me without you. I am alive only when I am with you” (Narayan 53). At first glance, it looks like Sita is just another wife whose existence is based off her husbands. Though this rings true somewhat, the underlying message is “Hey! I’m coming whether you like it not, so deal with it!” Sita’s will is being imposed on Rama. Sita later demands that Rama capture or kill a golden deer, the demon Mareecha in disguise, for her. “Normally, Rama would have questioned Sita’s fancy, but today he blindly accepted her demand” (Narayan 82). She has once again pressed her will on Rama, and he obeyed. Women in the Hindu culture do not demand their husbands to anything, but she did, and he listened even after Lakshmana warned that it could be a trick because Sita said, “While you two are debating the animal will be gone…You will never get it, I know” (Narayan 82-83). She is like a child throwing a tantrum over a new toy. When Mareecha calls out for help in Rama’s voice, and Lakshmana, certain that Rama would never be in any kind of trouble, refuses to go help him, Sita again has to assert her will. She pleads with Lakshmana, accuses him of being “unmoved and unaffected” and finally threatens to kill herself if Lakshmana does not go to Rama’s rescue. Sita implied that Lakshmana may have wrong intentions towards her, hence the reason why he did not want to go and help Rama. She left Lakshmana with no choice but to go. She later repented of her angry words and gave a true and glowing picture of Lakshmana to Hanuman in the gardens of Lanka. Upon her capture and release by Ravana, Sita's virtue immediately becomes a main concern. As the story unfolds it is learned that although Sita remains entirely devoted and chaste while in captivity. Rama continues to subject her to scrutiny and tests of her honesty. “After all this, I must tell you that it is not customary to admit back to the normal married fold a woman who has resided all alone in a stranger’s house”(Narayan 148). Sita responds with, “She beckoned to Lakshmana and ordered, ‘Light a fire at once, on this very spot’” (Narayan 149). Sita was not passive at all when it came to this situation. Any woman would have gone away because their husband told them to, but Sita goes all the way to jump in a fire to prove her integrity to Rama. The only time Sita seemed to be passive was when her father arranged her marriage, but after that, she had a mind of her own, and wasn’t afraid to say what was on it either.