Author: Santhosh Patel, Dr. Seema Choudhary

Abstract: Mythology does not merely preserve cultural memory; it also shapes social attitudes toward women, sexuality, obedience, and moral legitimacy. Indian mythological narratives have historically represented women through patriarchal ideals such as chastity, sacrifice, and devotion, thereby reducing female subjectivity to symbolic functions within male-centered traditions. Power Women: A Journey into Hindu Mythology, Folklore and History by Pushpa Kurup revisits mythological women whose voices have been marginalized or distorted within dominant retellings. This paper examines Kurup's reinterpretation of Madhavi, Renuka, and Kannagi through the theoretical framework developed by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak in "Can the Subaltern Speak?". Spivak's argument shifts attention from silence itself to the structures that prevent marginalized women from being heard on their own terms. The paper also engages feminist scholars such as Uma Chakravarti, Simone de Beauvoir, and Shulamith Firestone to situate Kurup's work within broader feminist debates on patriarchy, female sexuality, and bodily control. Madhavi is commodified through reproductive exchange, Renuka is disciplined through surveillance of female desire, and Kannagi acquires authority only after conforming completely to patriarchal ideals of chastity and wifely devotion. Together, these narratives demonstrate that mythology does not simply reflect patriarchy but actively participates in preserving and legitimizing it. Kurup's feminist reinterpretation exposes the emotional and psychological dimensions erased by traditional retellings and restores complexity to women who were historically reduced to moral symbols.

Keywords: chastity, female agency, feminist reinterpretation, mythology, patriarchal silence, Spivak, subaltern, subjectivity

Article Info: Received: 17 Apr 2026; Received in revised form: 12 May 2026; Accepted: 16 May 2026; Available online: 20 May 2026

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.113.22