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Cursed Women: Punishment, Betrayal and Redemption
- Jasmeh Kaur
- Mar 24
- 5 min read
Mythologies and folklore often consist of tales of women who have been cursed and punished under the guise of divine justice. The castigator, mostly a divine entity, justifies the suffering of such women as righteous retribution that dismisses their pain. These myths represent power structures in society that reprimand or villainise women who defy certain expectations. However, a close examination of these myths reveals that many of these "cursed" women were not transgressors but victims of betrayal, misplaced blame, and societal control. This article explores three critical narratives: the nature of punishment inflicted upon women, the role of betrayal in shaping their fates, and the concept of retribution and reclamation of power.
The Divine, the Demoness, and Damnation
Divine entities, for long, have been perceived as sources of wisdom and virtue. As embodiments of such ideals, their power and judgement are often regarded as absolute and just. However the undisputed nature and glorification of such authority has often led to harsher consequences for women.
Medusa originates from Greek mythology as one of the three Gorgon sisters. Infamously depicted as a monster, she was originally a beautiful maiden and a devoted priestess of Athena. Bound by sacred duty, she served under the virgin goddess who decreed that all her priestesses remain celibate. However, she caught the eye of Poseidon, who, overcome by desire, violated her within the very walls she worshipped. Enraged by the desecration of her temple and the consequent loss of Medusa’s chastity, Athena directed her wrath towards her. To punish her, she transformed her into a Gorgon with serpentine hair and a gaze that turned its receptor to stone. Medusa’s fate reflects a theme in mythology where the blame is often misplaced to women. Athena, contrary to her title as the Goddess of wisdom, demonises her own devotee who lay defenseless. Her wrath is representative of a broader theme of control.
Parallel to this is the story of Simhika, a demoness in Hindu mythology who could control shadows. Her character in Ramayana is cunning and ambitious with an insatiable desire for power, eventually leading to her demise by Hanuman. Unlike Medusa, who was a victim of divine wrath, Simhika's curse stemmed from her own aspirations for power. She symbolises the antagonisation of women with ambition and reinforces the idea that divine interventions were often more vindictive than retributive. Although she was a demoness, the condemnation of her pursuit for power reflects society’s suppression of female agency on a broader level.
Betrayal, Blame and Banishment
A second catalyst for female suffering in mythology is male betrayal wherein women are subjected to harsher consequences despite being deceived and tricked. One example is the tale of Ahalya, who was deemed the most beautiful woman created by Brahma. She was the wife of Sage Gautama, a union vexed by Indra. Captivated by her beauty, he schemed to deceive her by disguising himself as Gautama when the Sage was away. Believing it to be her husband, Ahalya agreed to lie with the disguised Indra. When Gautama discovered them together, he cursed Ahalya in light of his wrath to a life of stillness and turned her to stone.
While Lord Rama later acknowledges her innocence, her story underscores the tragedy of women who have to bear the consequences of sins they did not commit. The theme of misplaced blame reoccurs in versions that question her intent, suggesting that she was aware it was Indra. Even in narratives where she is ‘redeemed’ by Lord Rama, it draws on a male saviour complex to end her suffering. Furthermore, Gautama’s reaction also sheds light on the patriarchal pattern of tying a woman’s worth to her bodily “purity” (Myers 2015, p.6). He punishes Ahalya as if her body belonged solely to him and any supposed violation, even through trickery, rendered her unredeemable and unworthy of respect. Such male figures in mythologies consider a mark on their wives’ chastity as a blow to their own ego, valuing their honour and reputation above their wives’ agency and suffering.
Rage, Redemption, and Redefining Cursed Women
While the suffering of ‘cursed’ women remains universal, their stories have not invariably ended in submission. Many of these figures transformed from wronged women into symbols of defiance and resistance, refusing to remain passive victims. Their anger represents an assertion of power and a refusal to conform to orthodox norms. Mythologies and folklores hold a mirror up to society and the way it perceives power structures. The portrayal of women who defy certain standards as evil is shaped by patriarchal forces eager to subvert their prowess (Meehan 2017).
Medusa’s curse, intended as a punishment, ultimately leads to her reclamation of power. Her petrifying gaze also becomes symbolic for victims of sexual assault. While Athena takes away her beauty, in doing so she also empowers Medusa to challenge her perpetrators. Medusa’s redemption has been articulated in modern retellings as a response to patriarchal structures. Bowers (1990, 220) argues that patriarchal males have framed Medusa, and by extension all women, as the object of the male gaze in order to protect themselves from Medusa’s own gaze, which challenges their authority.
Medusa’s tale is both cautionary and exemplary because she possesses a literal female gaze- the power to turn men, including those who assaulted her, into stone. She exerts her power actively and strips male agency, reversing the traditional power dynamic of objectification. To counter this, patriarchal narratives redefine her as a monster to be feared, and thus symbolically reclaim dominance.
In the book “Ahalya’s Awakening,” Kane retells the story from Ahalya’s perspective. A major shift in this narrative is the acceptance of Ahalya’s sexuality and desires. Kane deems her intent irrelevant, which had previously been condemned in traditional versions (Kane 2019, 44). Ahalya assumes her individuality rather than merely conforming to the traditional role of a wife. The reclamation of Ahalya’s character challenges her discriminatory portrayal in Valmiki’s Ramayana (Jayalaxmi and Yengkhom 2023, 8). While such modern retellings have been criticised for their defiance of Indian culture, they question societal structures that suppress female sexuality and liberty. These women, although condemned, reclaim their narrative and serve as early symbols of resistance. They represent women who refused to remain passive, who embraced their fury, and who turned punishment into power.
Bibliography
Susan R. Bowers. “Medusa and the Female Gaze.” NWSA Journal 2, no. 2 (1990): 217–35. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4316018.
Jayalaxmi, Ph., and Sushma Yengkhom. “Subalternity and Resistance: A Study of Ahalya in Kavita Kane’s Ahalya’s Awakening.” IIS University Journal of Arts 12, no. 3&4 (2023): 188–202. https://iisjoa.org/sites/default/files/iisjoa/October_November_2023/15th%20Paper.pdf
Pattanaik, Devdutt. "The Gallery of Female Rogues." Devdutt, accessed March 19, 2025. https://devdutt.com/the-gallery-of-female-rogues/
Temple Yatri. "Lord Hanuman and the Demoness Simhika." Temple Yatri. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://templeyatri.in/lord-hanuman-and-the-demoness-simhika/
Ovid. Metamorphoses, Book IV, lines 753–803. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph4.htm#478205208
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