The strange parallels between Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and women of Hindu Mythology
For a long while now I have wondered why I've liked Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn so much. Don't get me wrong, every queen was an awesome and incredibly strong woman in her own right (They were forced to deal with bullshit that they didn't deserve because of a certain dickhead who shall go unnamed).
But I've always felt especially connected to these two Queens for some reason. Yesterday morning I sat with my parents watching a mytho TV show and it dawned upon me what it was. These queens remind me of the women I've essentially grown up with.
See I'm not entitled to speak for everyone in India, but these mythological stories were an incredibly important part of my childhood. We never had the stories of cinderella and snow white we had the stories of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Both of them are Sanskrit epics written around 2500 years ago. And while the stories are rather fantastical, in many ways they are hugely reflective of Indian sensibilities and have some very complex characters and arcs.
I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Sita (the heroine of Ramayana) and Catherine of Aragon and also between Draupadi (the female protagonist of Mahabharat) and Anne Boleyn.
By no means do I mean to disrespect these people or these characters. Or to disregard the struggle and trauma of these incredible women. All I seek to say is that they very strongly remind me of these two characters who are considered to be the ideals of womanhood by many (conservative) people in Indian society.
P. S. : I was thinking of further illustrating these differences in detail. Should I?
dededos
janainaart
areudirty
blakekathryn
stormborns
ellievsbear
