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The Red Chastity

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Various themes are presented throughout The Red Lotus of Chastity such as deception, loyalty, and true love. Written by Somadeva, this 11th century short story represents what it means to be truly faithful to one person and how deception can play a role in relationships. Guhasena and Devasmitā instantly fall in love, “but Devasmitā herself, as soon as she had set eyes on Guhasena, was so carried away by his qualities that she decided to desert her parents” (1275) and were determined to remain chaste. While Guhasena is away on business, Devasmitā goes to great lengths to remain faithful and protect her husband. After multiple occasions involving disguises and deception, the husband and wife live happily ever after.
Upon learning of her husband’s …show more content…

In order to prevent this, the two fast and appeal to the god Śiva in hopes that he will help them. Śiva provides each with flower and said, “Each of you must keep this lotus in his hand. If one of you commits adultery while the other is far away, the lotus in the other’s hand will wither away. So be it” (1275) and with that the Guhasena leaves for his trip. Shortly after arriving, four merchant sons began to notice that the lotus does not fade and plan to get Guhasena drunk so that he will tell them what it means. The sons set off to find Devasmitā in hopes that they will seduce her and she will commit adultery and this is where the first act of deception can be observed. The merchants use a nun to get to Devasmitā, “Reverend Madam, if you can bring about what we wish, we shall reward you richly” (1275). The nun then explains that she doesn’t need money for she has an abundance of wealth through her pupil. Her …show more content…

To do this the nun convinces Devasmitā that her dog is weeping because they knew each other in a past lift, “just now she recognized me from a former life when we knew each other” (1277). The nun explains to Devasmitā that she and the dog were both once married to the same man and that if she hadn’t cheated on her husband she would be a dog too, “that is why I in this present life have the privilege of remembering past existences. But she in her ignorance guarded her chastity, and so she has been reborn a bitch” (1277). The nun justifies being unfaithful because so as not to frustrate the senses and the element, “our highest duty, you know, is to yield to the demands of sense and element”

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