Do I Exist: Deconstruction of the Fire Daughter ‘Draupadi’

Abstract

Women have been portrayed as the embodiment of purity and selflessness for ages. They are raised with the ‘pride of the household’ façade ensnaring them, weighing them down, making them doubt their own needs and desires, and leading them to wonder if it is even illegal to put oneself first. This paper is an endeavor of unearthing to look into the process of making subalterns by some colonial power over its subordinates through various means. We intend to analyze how these two writers have rewritten the character of Draupadi, an ‘epitome of suffering’ who has eponymous popularity. This paper evokes the plight, triple layer of subjugation, and resistance faced by the protagonist of the great Indian epic, Mahabharat. This is also designed to make a comparative study between ancient and hard-core, realistic modern characters. It deals with two prominent contemporary works of Chitra Banerjee’s The Palace of Illusions (2008), and Mahasweta Devi’s Draupadi (1997), from the point of view of gender studies and postcolonialism with its’ nexus in Dalit feminism. It will ultimately conclude that, whereas Devi's unconventional Draupadi, a reflection of ‘power against center’ or Banerjee’s rebellious protagonist while growing up under the heavy influence of the earlier, canonizes herself in a model manner while also acknowledging her classical namesake, Veda Vaysa's Draupadi remains a canon like the epic itself. This character is a perfect paragon of breaking the cage of societal jurisprudence.