Seybold Report ISSN: 1533-9211
Shiwangi Shailja, Dr Aditi Dev
Vol 18, No 3 ( 2023 ) | Licensing: CC 4.0 | Pg no: 117-122 | Published on: 30-03-2023
Abstract
Myth is a history that is far-fetched and percolated generation after generation through human consciousness. Mythology has always aligned itself to promote certain voices, viewpoints, and perspectives over others. Mythology vividly delineates the marginalization whether it is based on caste or gender. My paper attempts to analyze how certain characters are marginalized and pushed to the brink of half-existence and seem to share their frustrations of being misunderstood or half-understood which were very neatly ignored in certain ancient texts. Some writers of the Post-Modern era write about these marginalized characters in their version of retellings. This paper attempts to trace the elements of marginalization based on gender which is vividly explained in the retellings of Mahabharata. The reason for choosing the study of marginalized characters is that many Post-Modern authors, especially Indian writers, give voice to such characters considered to be marginalized and provide a platform for the reader to visualize the same story from a different angle. In the hands of Post-Modern writers, the mythological past takes different interesting shapes and we get to know the flip side of the same story. It is the standard norm to privilege one group over the other but the Retellings of the epic give voices to the voiceless and unnoticed characters, question the binaries, and deconstruct the hegemonic notions.
This paper aims to light the suppressed voices of the suppressed personalities in the Grand narrative of the Indian Mythological epic Mahabharata. The analysis of the stories presented in this paper deals with marginalization based on gender – be it female or the LGBT community.
Keywords:
Marginalization, Gender, Mythology, Queer Narratives, Hegemonic Notion, Folklore