The format of this section of The Ramayana reminded me how much ancient epics and modern fantasy can be similar to each other in structure. There is this common setup of task-oriented plots, like for the hero to reach the end goal they have to do this, but to do that they must first do this other thing, and so on. The sequence is at least somewhat already determined by fate or divine will or some other higher force that's helping things move along, making the progression of the plot both a test for the characters and inevitable. There's some sense of agency involved in that the hero and their companions must make the correct choices to reach the goal, but of course they always come out alright in the end.
For storytelling, this reminded me of a choose your own adventure frame, where the reader is given a set of choices at various points in the book, each choice sending them to different pages with still more choices; the details of the plot vary based on the choices made. I'm not sure this setup would work for one of the weekly Storytelling blog posts, but it might work on the Storybook webpages, where new pages can be linked.
The portrayal of women in this epic is also interesting. They are typically overshadowed by the male characters, but the women still have important roles, strength, and wisdom. Sita has incredible strength of will and remains a devoted partner to Rama, while Sugreeva and Vali's wife gives accurate warnings to Vali and also raises a group of women to protect the land when Sugreeva is too distracted to do his duty. It's like their roles are half-hidden within the narrative but still able to be recognized by those who look.
Tara tries to dissuade Vali from fighting Sugreeva
illustration c.1628-1649 from copy of The Ramayana
source: Wikimedia Commons
No comments:
Post a Comment