Main Article Content

Abstract

In Indian social structure, gender specified roles have been stringently internalized and any deviation from them is rendered as iniquitous. The virtues of honesty, chastity and divinity are to be possessed by women. Cultural constructs present mythic characters of Draupadi, Sita and Damayanti as epitome of these virtues. Such constructs binds the feet of women. However, Indira Goswami’s Damayanti and Mahasweta Devi’s Draupadi traverse the roles of famous mythic women characters and render such roles as concocted to keep women submissive. This paper with the help of the short story “The Offspring” justifies that woman is not merely a site of sexual pleasure or womb to reproduce but also possesses extreme power to strife, to win and to herald a new era.

Article Details