Retelling the Ramayana: Myth and Magical Realism in The Forest of Enchantments

सार

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a contemporary retelling of the Ramayana narrated from the perspective of Sita. The novel reinterprets traditional mythology through a feminist lens while employing magical realism as a major narrative strategy. This paper examines how Divakaruni blends mythological elements with magical realism to create a narrative that is emotionally profound, culturally rooted, and socially relevant. The study explores how myth functions as a dynamic literary framework rather than a fixed religious narrative. Through Sita’s voice, the novel challenges patriarchal interpretations of the epic and reconstructs female identity, emotional agency, and self-expression. Magical realism in the novel integrates supernatural events such as divine births, prophetic visions, sacred rituals, Hanuman’s miraculous journey, Ravana’s magical powers, and Sita’s return to Mother Earth into ordinary reality without creating separation between the magical and the real. The paper further analyzes how magical realism intensifies emotional realism by grounding mystical experiences in human emotions such as grief, love, loneliness, sacrifice, and resilience. Nature, spirituality, and cosmic forces are also examined as important components of the magical realist atmosphere of the novel. The study concludes that Divakaruni successfully revitalizes ancient mythology for contemporary readers by combining feminist reinterpretation, emotional realism, mythological symbolism, and magical realism. The novel therefore emerges as a significant contribution to contemporary Indian English literature and feminist mythological fiction.