In Ramayana, Rama is always the hero. He is the embodiment of the perfect man. Paley's take on the story recenters this view as she dives deep into the character of Sita. This allows the viewer to dissect what a hero really is. Her bravery and strength makes her a hero, but she isn't celebrated for it. In fact, it seems that life punishes her for it. We see her heroic acts in her decision to follow him into exile, in her resilience during captivity under Ravana, and in the strength it takes to face suspicion from the man she loved to the very end of her life. There is an apparent contradiction in the original tale. Sita must bear the weight of the many hardships she faces without a word while Rama is never really critiqued for throwing her away, even when he knew for a fact that she was completely faultless.

Gender Politics and the Hero in Ancient Literature © 2026 by Elshaddai Tefera is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Her story begins as she emerges from fire and right then and there she loses agency over her life. Her father immediately plans on her marriage to fulfill his own wishes. She carries on the consequences of an accidental wish she made in a past life and through a series of unfortunate events it fulfills itself as she marries the victor of the challenge and his four brothers. When one of her husbands gambles her away, she finds herself stripped of even her humanity.

Gender Politics and the Hero in Ancient Literature © 2026 by Elshaddai Tefera is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

The five brothers are portrayed as dutiful and obedient sons when they obey their mother’s mistaken command to share what they had brought home. Yudhishthira knows his opponent is a cheat and that he is sure to lose everything he puts on the line, but his decision to partake in the games that cost him his life and his wife are framed as adherence to the dharma. This link between morality and societal duties in the tale is clearly hypocritical and restrictive. Gender Politics and the Hero in Ancient Literature © 2026 by Elshaddai Tefera is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/