Character of Rani in Nagamandala by Girish Karnad
In the play, Rani is a naive and submissive girl who falls prey to the unjust social order through marriage. In the story she goes through period of domestic violence and abuse. But later rebels and takes control of the situation, though with the indirect help of the Naga and Kurudava. In the initial phases she is described as a helpless, abused Indian housewife. She is imprisoned by her spouse in a routine manner. She is confined, violated and regulated by her husband Apanna. She is ex-communicated on a social level, neglected at a personal level and violated at the sexual level. She finds it very hard to have healthy marital and social interaction as her spouse, Appanna keeps her “ locked up like a caged bird ”. She is isolated and lives without any future and identity. She is lost in her search for love and identity as a wife. She longs to have freedom from the clutches of Appanna. She is left with no voice and choice as a member of human society. She is seen seeking re...