The Female Characters In Genesis And The Ramayana

While male characters found throughout texts in world literature are frequently recognized as being the most significant, their underestimated female counterparts are often more influential in the progression of the narrative, and also aid in providing an analysis of the role of women in their social environments. Examples of narratives in which women play significant roles are One Thousand and One Nights, the book of “Genesis" found in the Bible, and The Ramayana of Valmiki. The women found in these texts act as catalysts in the events occurring in each narrative, which ultimately progresses the text to reach its climax and resolution. The female characters in One Thousand and One Nights, the book of “Genesis,” and The Ramayana of Valmiki
Because of the actions of the wives of the kings, the events that took place after their death occurred, thus creating the entire reason for the narrative itself to exist. Shahrazad, the daughter of King Shahrayar’s vizier, is instrumental in furthering the progression of the text’s plot. She aids in the cessation of the king’s vendetta by agreeing to marry him and then orating stories each night so as to prolong her life before she is killed, which in turn prohibits King Shahrayar from wedding any of the other women in the kingdom. The majority of One Thousand and One Nights has to do with the stories that she tells, so were it not for Shahrazad, there would be no continuation of the narrative after the king’s plot to slay the women of his kingdom. In addition to affecting the plot and its outcome, the aforementioned women also help to provide commentary on their role in their social environment in the text and the culture in which the text was written. The kings’ wives, based on their roles in the lives of the kings, were viewed more as property than as actual human beings. When each king discovered that he had been cheated on, his reaction was not one based on sadness related to the betrayal of his marriage and love for his wife, but rather seemed to be rooted to the fact that his wife belonged to him, and she had been unfaithful. This can be used as evidence to deduce that women in the social environment in both the text and the culture in which the text was written were considered to be the property of the men in their lives, and as such were secondary in importance. However, Shahrazad’s courage in her endeavor to put a halt to King Shahrayar’s vendetta, as well as her cunning in doing so, suggests that women were