Daring to Tell the Tale: A Thematic Analysis of Feminist Retellings of Popular Mythological Narratives

Abstract

The paper critically examines the radical subversions of three popular mythological narratives, all centered around female protagonists-the good woman, the bad, and the one who could never be the former because of being a woman. Each of these narratives originally act as either tales of caution or as stories glorifying the noble cis male victor’s heroism in protecting the weak female and act as mechanisms to rid the society of deviance while perpetuating caste patriarchal norms of the times. Subverting the popular narrative structure, each of these three pieces- ranging from poetry to novel- re-imagine and rehierarchize not only the female protagonist but also debunks the vilification of many other female characters and question perpetual systems of oppression instead. They turn the narratives from tales of individual blame to questions of larger social processes that allow and facilitate the suppression of all who do not hold power. Taking a look at writing spanning almost a century and focusing on views of authors coming from distinct social, political and gender(ed.) locations, the paper tries to analyze the challenge to the dominant narratives from below through an intersectional feminist point of view. The paper tries to take a fresh look into old myths and critically examine ideas of solidarity, resistance and liberation and the potential they hold in the contemporary context.