SITA BEYOND THE ARCHETYPE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IDENTITY AND AGENCY IN EASTERN AND WESTERN MYTHOLOGICAL RETELLINGS

The present paper examines the evolution of Sita’s identity from a mythical archetype to a more individualised, self-aware being through a comparative analysis of Eastern narrative reinterpretation and Western academic frameworks. Situated within the larger discourse of revisionist mythmaking, the research utilises The Liberation of Sita as its primary narrative reference, while also engaging with Western feminist and postcolonial philosophy to examine the reconstruction of marginalised subjectivity within literary discourse. In the Ramayana, Sita has long been seen as a symbol of morality, strength, and stillness. This image has become an ideal of womanhood that is profoundly ingrained in culture. Yet this very clarity begins to feel unsettled when one pauses over it. How can a character who is so important stay so partially voiced? Modern