May 29 100-word response: "happily ever after"
- Due May 29, 2024 by 11:30am
- Points 5
- Submitting a text entry box or a file upload
- Available May 28, 2024 at 12am - May 31, 2024 at 11:59pm
In contrast to Valmiki's Ramayana, in which Rama exiles Sita after their return to Ayodhya, Narayan's narrative presents us with a version of the events in which this does not happen. Sita is initially rejected by Rama but then she is declared to be pure by the fire god himself and returned to her husband. And that's that. As Narayan has it: "From the heart of the flame rose the god of fire, bearing Sita, and presented her to Rama with words of blessing. Rama, now satisfied that he had established his wife’s integrity in the presence of the world, welcomed Sita back to his arms." Let's go with Narayan for the sake of the exercise and imagine that this really is the end of the abduction plot line—all that remains is the coronation and a happy ending. Or is it? How would you assess this ending, how satisfying, happy, and complete is it? Do you see any cracks here through which potential shadows could creep in?