Viewing Helen of Sparta and Draupadi of Pancala: A Comparative Approach
Date
2018-09-21
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Abstract
This dissertation compares the narrative representations of Helen of Sparta in the Iliad and in the Odyssey along with Krishnā- Draupadī of Pāñcāla in the Mahābhārata. The Trojan War in the Iliad and the devastating war in the Mahābhārata reveal a similar myth that appears in the Cypria of the Epic Cycle and the first book of the Mahābhārata itself. Similarly, Helen in the Iliad and Draupadī in the Mahābhārata are born as casus belli by divine order. Further, they silently follow their fathers’ instructions in choosing their suitors in marriage. While these women are subjects to the wishes of the gods and to their fathers, I argue in this dissertation that these two heroines are capable of expressing themselves with a powerful speaking voice. As a result, my project reveals that Homer and Vyasa grapple with a surprisingly similar situation in the epics showing the layers of two cultures of pre-Indo-European and Indo-European in characterizing Helen and similarly, pre-Vedic and Vedic in the portrayals of Draupadī. This dissertation is broken up into three parts and two chapters each. While the first part of the dissertation focuses on Helen and Draupadī as casus belli and also as silent women, the second part examines their powerful self-presentations, particularly their rhetorical skill encountering men and women (goddess Aphrodite in Helen’s case) in various situations. Thus Homer in his epics and Vyāsa in the Mahābhārata create two heroines who subvert the established system with their use of multiple voice. The third part of this dissertation investigates how the metaphorical presentations of Space and Time in Homeric and Indic epics act as non-verbal signifiers of the many voices of Helen and Draupadī. Finally, this dissertation asserts that Helen’s ambivalent character is the social manifestation of the pre-Indo-European culture at the beginning of Indo-European society. Likewise, the equally equivocal character of Draupadī displays pre-Vedic era while actively maintaining her position in the patrilineal society embedded in Vedic ideology.
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Helen of Sparta, Draupadi, Western Epic, Indic Epic, Power of Speech, Self-representation, Indo-European Culture
Citation
Chatterjee, R. (2018). Viewing Helen of Sparta and Draupadi of Pancala: A Comparative Approach (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/33074