Reimagining Women of Indian Mythology

This thesis critically examines the reinterpretation of prominent female characters from Indian mythology in contemporary Indian English fiction, highlighting how these retellings address feminist revisionist concerns. By analyzing six selected works, this study investigates how these narratives challenge the patriarchal ideologies embedded in the original texts of The Ramayana and The Mahabharata.The study situates itself within the domain of feminist revisionist mythology, a critical approach that aims to re-examine and rewrite traditional mythological narratives through a feminist lens. The idea behind this approach is not merely to retell old stories but to deconstruct the existing gender biases and reconstruct the female characters with greater agency and individuality. These contemporary retellings allow for a re-evaluation of the role of women in mythology, emphasizing their strength, intelligence, and resilience rather than merely portraying them as secondary to male heroes.