The Heroine of a Thousand Faces
The Tamil Feminine and the Monomyth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.36444Keywords:
Cilappatikāram, goddess, Joseph Campbell, monomyth, mythology, TamilAbstract
The hero’s journey or monomyth of Campbell (1966) has been a source of much analysis both in ancient literature across the world as well as modern ones such as the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. The hero’s journey is an oft-cited archetype of storytelling. This article illustrates how this archetype could be applied to an ancient Tamil epic (the Silappathikaram or Lay of the Anklet) and its female protagonist. It also shows how the monomyth could be used to harmonise the three parts of the epic, the last of which had often been claimed to be a later addition. However, looking at the epic from the perspective of the monomyth, it is clear that all three parts are integral to understanding the heroines journey. Further explorations into South Asian epic literature might yield new information on the divine feminine and its role in the heroic cycle.
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