International Journal of Development in Social Sciences and Humanities

The discourse of mythology is male-centered, as mythological stories represent acts of masculine vigor while women remain docile puppets, playing victims or mute observers. The frequent use of myth and legends has provided the scope to read Githa Hariharan’s debut novel for the purpose of exploring the role of myth in constructing and re-visioning gender and issues related to gender. The author presents the Indian myths taken from Ramayana and Mahabharata and relates them to the women characters of her novel. The story of The Thousand Faces of Night revolves around three women characters – Devi, the central character; Sita, her mother and Mayamma, the maid. As a young girl, Devi curiously tries to know the mystery of life through the stories told by her grandmother. Hariharan’s novel is constructed from a blend of myth, legend and religious parable, which overlays a realist narrative that is also informed by autobiography and personal memory. The stories of Pati, Baba and Mayamma have been taken from ancient myths, inscriptions from the laws of Manu and the real stories of lived experiences respectively. Devi’s grandmother Pati illustrates the role of women in disseminating the traditional stories from one generation to another which is the way patriarchal ideology is promulgated. My readings of Hariharan’s use of myth illustrates how it continues to endorse a dominant ideology through stories and allegories of selflessly devoted women but it also creates spaces in which the traditional mythology can be read against the grain, offering the possibilities of a transformative gender politics.