A Re-Study of the Character of Draupadi in Chitra Banarjee Devakaruni's The Palace of Illusions in the Light of Non-Existential Feminism

Abstract

Draupadi is one of the female mythological character of the most widely renowned epic Mahabharata. Though the main action of an epic always revolves around the male characters who are heroic and important but The Palace of Illusions depict the character of Draupadi as someone significant and important by being the omniscient narrator of the events of Mahabharata from her individual perspective. But as we read the novel, we witness a hidden anti-existential feminine aspect underneath her persona. Draupadi could never become what she really wanted to become. Her character was drawn on the canvas of society, coloured by people around her. As an individual she was inclined to completely different things which she could never actually realize due to the pressure of the society. She was an individual with great mental prowess and several hidden talents but she was forced to lead a completely non-existential life. She was moulded into a dependent woman who sacrificed everything for the sake of others.