But the beauty of the Indian woman lies in her tenacity and the ability to carve out a niche for herself in a world dominated with sons, lovers, husbands and fathers.
Indian literary heritage begins with the four Vedas- the religious verses of the ancient Aryans- the Rig Veda, the Atharva, the Sama and the Yajur Vedas- around 1500 B.C. Though they do have fables and ancient tales, the characters almost always serve to highlight a more philosophical way of life. The women are mostly wives of great seers or kings (like Renuka, Atri and Anasuya) They were righteousness incarnate and enjoyed a special kind of freedom and respect, unfettered by hoary traditions.
The later chronicles of society were the two great epics of the Indian sub-continent, the Mahabharatha (10th century BC) and the Ramayana (circa 500 BC). The former is the story of a fratricidal, internecine war revealing mankind in all its base emotions while the latter is an idealized version of how the perfect man or the perfect society ought to be. The heroine of Ramayana, Sita is a sweet and chaste woman whose prime duty in life was to serve her husband's interests. She is the epitome of matrimonial bliss and romantic love. Sita is abducted by a lecherous demoniac king and is rescued by her valiant spouse. Yet, when he wishes to be separated from her due to the suspicions raised by his subjects, Sita meekly complies. To such extents runs her devotion.
The Mahabharatha, on the other hand, does not mince words when it comes to human frailties. Though there is no central heroine in the epic, Draupadi, the polygynous wife of the five Pandava brothers dominates the female scene. She is devoted and chaste, yet fiery when condemning her spouses. She is the meek and obedient daughter-in-law, but vengeful towards her husband's cousins for their shabby treatment of her family. Personally, I would say that only after Draupadi's period, there arose the burden of sexism and the woman as an object of love.
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