Somadeva 5/6/14

    In modern American culture it is popular to show women as strong-willed, extremely capable heroines. They don’t answer to men, and might even be called upon to rescue men in distress. This trend, however, represents a very recent shift in thinking, not only in America but also across the globe.  In “Kathasaritsagara,” Somadeva puts on display a world in which women must wear disguises to perform heroic or noteworthy acts.

Siddhikari is the first case in point from Somdeva’s work. The young pupil of a nun passes herself off as a common house servant in order to steal a large fortune from a wealthy merchant. She pulls off the theft, but is seen making her escape. In order to escape detection she tricks her would-be informer into hanging himself. When she is seen doing this, she climbs the tree and ultimately bites the tongue off of her lone pursuer, thus preserving her secret identity (Somadeva 1276). She returns to her mistress and is praised for her ingenuity.

The costumed deceptions continue a bit later in the story, when the mistress attempts to deceive a young woman, Devasmita, into committing adultery. Devasmita foils the plot by dressing up one of her servants as herself to fool the young man who comes to make love to her. The disguise fools the young man and each of his brothers who follow, in turn. In this case, the disguise serves to protect a bond of marriage that is built on faithfulness (1277-78).

Unlike in modern America, women in the time and place which Somadeva depicts act behind the scenes and in disguise to accomplish their goals. Far from being celebrated, they have to be content with their successes without taking credit for them. Sometimes the disguises serve to outsmart men, and other times they serve to strengthen the bond between men and women. In either case, the disguise is central to the successful culmination of the plot.

Work Cited

Somadeva. "From Kathasaritsagara." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Third ed. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton, 2013. 1274-1279. Print.