Introduction
Written by two different playwrights, The Ramayana and Paradise Lost by Maharshi Valmiki and John Milton respectively are ancient epic poems that present the nature of females during their relationship with men. While Valmiki presents Sita as an extraordinary woman with desirable characters, Milton describes Eve as a woman who is vulnerable to deviate from the norms.
Comparatively, while Valmiki draws out the picture of Sita as a model of purity in the Hindu culture, Milton examines Eve’s level of respect and obedience, but not as an archetype of knowledge. Besides Sita, other minor female characters like Kausalya and Kaikeyi play a significant role in opening to the audience the behavioral conduct of women. Whereas there are few similarities in the character of Sita and Eve, there are many dissimilar elements in their conduct as the following discussion exposits.
The contrast in the characters
Valmiki presents Sita as a symbol of richness. Moreover, he describes her as life by representing her as a model of fertility. For instance, Sita says, “Saintly Janak saw my birth, /Child of harvest-bearing furrow, Sita sprang from Mother Earth” (Goldman “The Ramayana of Valmiki: An Epic of Ancient India” 416).
The aforementioned quote means that Sita is not only the goddess of fertility during human reproduction, but she is also a vital figure in the agricultural world. The author uses living features like plants or animals when referring to Sita’s feelings. Therefore, the natural environment automatically connects Sita’s happiness. For example, while in the forest, the author writes, “The flowers and trees delight her” (Goldman “The Ramayana of Valmiki: An Epic of Ancient India” 456).
Furthermore, her sacrifice to accompany Rama to the forest proves her love for nature. When she departs from the forest sorrow depression and unhappiness feels her life. Therefore, as aforementioned, it suffices to conclude that Sita represents richness and fertility. Such combination of qualities can only be offered by nature, no wonder her love for the same.
Secondly, Sita is a symbol of purity and womanhood. In the first instance, Sita accompanies her husband, Rama, during his exile in the forest. Although Rama convinces her to stay behind, she declines his request. Therefore, her character proves her possession of a pure heart and strong will to do what the society holds as right.
The society propagates the stereotype that, women should cling to and support their husbands regardless of the prevailing situation. Otherwise, which woman in her right mind would leave the luxurious life of a palace to go and suffer in the wilderness? Her love to her husband is pure and unquestionable. Moreover, her womanhood, as dictated by the norms, is infallible.
On the contrary, Milton does not portray Eve symbolically as it is the case with Sita, but he uses her to educate the audience about marriage and women. Eve is weak, and the ability of the devil to trick her into committing sin makes her impure. The elegant physique of her body tempts her to fall.
Throughout the epic, Eve’s intelligence, wisdom, and spiritual qualities are constantly under scrutiny. Unlike Sita, she succumbs to the tests thus disqualifying her as the ideal woman. Moreover, Milton draws Eve as an object of lust rather than a symbol of womanhood as it is the case with Valmiki. After all, she is just human, and as the old adage goes, human is to error.
Character wise, Sita is a kind and faithful wife, which are some of the major qualities a man longs for in a woman. The author uses the phrase ‘faithful wife’ on several occasions to refer to her as a perfect wife in the society. After making up her mind to follow her husband, she says, “That he home the wedded woman doth beside her husband make” (Goldman “The Ramayana of Valmiki: Sundarakanda” 576), which means her culture demands of her not to leave her husband.
Thus, she is not only obedient to her husband but also to the Hinduism culture. In addition, Valmiki describes her as “soft-eyed/sweet eyed” (Goldman “The Ramayana of Valmiki: Sundarakanda” 576) giving her the outstanding qualities of a wife.
On the other hand, Eve is unfaithful and disobedient. Her body, beauty, passion and earthly desires always control her actions. For instance, the Satan easily tempts her after maximizing on her beauty as the weakest point (Milton 20). Consequently, she not only disobeys God, but also puts her marriage on rocks. Adams is angry because of her manipulation, which leads him into sin. The lack of will to do the right things drives Eve into sin.
The similarities in characters
The main contrasting character of Sita is the inability to heed her husband’s requests. She lacks the power of submission that an ideal woman should possess. For example, she turns him down when he requests her not to join him in the exile/forest. According to one of the poet’s analysts, ‘She is insisting on her own needs and feelings, her desire to be with Rama” (Peltier 80), yet she should weigh the situation and follow the best route.
On the second occasion, Sita forces her husband to chase a deer, but at the same time overlooks the dangers he may face. Consequently, her husband acceptance to her demands lands him in trouble, after which, she commands Laksmana to go after Rama, if not she would commit suicide. Thus, Sita’s desire to dominate over all human creatures, including wild animals, confirms her selfish and defiant character. In a similar manner, Sita fights back against her husband after he rejects her.
For instance, Rama hurls insults to her after rescuing her from the wrath of Ravana. In retaliation, Sita decides to go back to the earth than staying with Rama. Therefore, although Eve is unfaithful, she is not domineering, as it is the case with Sita. Eve struggles to rebuild her marriage by turning into a submissive wife the husband had lacked before.
Both Eve and Sita are inferior to their husbands, but they work hard to keep their marriages intact. While Eve pleads with Adam not to abandon her after committing sin, Sita follows her husband to exile to ensure they are always together.
They both struggle to express love to their husbands even when under tough conditions. Occasionally, they try to attempt suicide, but it is a deception to ensure their husbands come back to them. Therefore, the two playwrights used the female characters in their poems to educate the audience that women are the backbone of marriages.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the two authors use their female characters, Eve and Sita, to highlight the causes of failures of marriage in the society. Nevertheless, the comparative analysis of the two characters reveals that there is no perfect human being in the world but rather couples she strives to keep the fire burning in the marriage.
Although the women in the two stories fail at some point, each of them struggles to maintain their marriage. While Milton uses Eve to pass on the message to other women in the society to take care of their marriages, Valmiki expresses the need of an ideal woman in a marriage. Finally, the authors express the weaknesses and strengths of women, which men in marriages should focus on in order to sustain their relationships.
Works Cited
Goldman, Robert. The Ramayana of Valmiki: An Epic of Ancient India: Balakanda. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1990.
The Ramayana of Valmiki: Sundarakanda. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Milton, John. Paradise Lost: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton, 1975.
Peltier, Mary. (1995) “Sita’s Story: In the Valmiki Ramayana.” Journal of Vaisnava Studies 4.6 (1995): 77-103. Print.