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| Valmiki trains Lav and Kush in archery. Source: Wikimedia |
The feminism continues! The story takes a nice turn here and describes the torture that Sita went through. She was sent away twice and was not trusted because of her kidnapping. Rama had sent her away at the discretion of his villagers, which raises a red flag to me quite honestly. How could Rama take the words of his villagers over Sita? Finally, Sita proves herself by allowing herself to be taken back into the Earth rather than having to go through Rama's tests again. Her purity was obviously proved. This was a highlight of the story because she went through her own means to prove herself and finally relieve herself of the torture. Her devotion to Rama was unbelievable, yet Rama did not accept that. I truly wonder what could have made him think that way. He had no recollection of his incarnation as Vishnu, so he may have had human qualities of doubt and concern as any other.
Yet, this second half really shone in the aspect that Sita took control. She became her own self at some point. The symbolic image of Vishnu rubbing Lakshmi's feet at the end was a victory! This symbol of feminism actually bought about a main message from Paley's movie. Women, and even Goddesses, are poorly portrayed in these epics. Without women, this world would not go round! Besides the feminism aspect, this cartoon was a lovely portrayal of the Ramayana. It lacked several details, but made up for it by telling the story beyond the coronation like in R. K. Narayan's
Ramayana.
"Sita Sings the Blues" by Nina Paley. Source:
YouTube.
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