Week 9 Reading Notes: Nine Ideal Indian Women, Part A

• Savitri falls in love with a boy (Satyaban) in the forest. It turns out he is an exiled prince. Savitri's father doesn't want her marrying him because he was an "exiled beggar" but he also doesn't want her to be forced into obedience. He learns that the boy's father (the king) was surrounded by enemies from day one on the throne, making it really difficult to rule anyways. Then the king became blind, and he was eventually driven out of the kingdom by his brother. Satyaban and his mom followed him into exile. This makes Savitri's father more okay with her marrying him, but then he learns that Satyaban is destined to die within a year (which reminds me of The Raven Cycle!!! That is a key point of that book! I wonder if that's where she got the idea...).
• Savitri still wants to marry him despite knowing he'll die in a year.
• The way their love is written about is really beautiful. I might write about a single moment/day in their relationship where they are just doing daily domestic activities, helping Satyaban's parents, but both of them are admiring each other, and Savitri is trying hard not to think about how she will live without him.
• When Satyaban dies, the King of Death comes. Savitri begs him not to take Satyaban's body, but eventually gives in. She follows the King of Death, saying that she can't live without Satyaban so he should take her also. The King of Death says he will grant her wishes if she stops following him. She wishes for: her father-in-law's sight back, her father to have a son as an heir, and sons for herself. She then says that all of that is pointless to her if she doesn't have Satyaban, and she also wishes to die. The King of Death is surprised and realizes he has been conquered (love this!!! Reminds of Harry Potter). He gives Savitri her husband back. 
• Satyaban wakes up and thinks he has been sleeping there all night. Savitri doesn't tell him he died. This could also make a really interesting story--they continue gathering wood, and I could write about how Savitri is looking at Satyaban, thoughts racing and admiring him. 
• I love how everything just fell together perfectly in this story. Everything had a purpose: the birth of a girl instead of a boy, the exile, the wishes, the death, etc. 

Savitri and Satyavan from Wikimedia Commons

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Bibliography: Nine Ideal Indian Women: Savitri, Damayanti, Sati, and Uttara, by Sunity Devee.