Yearning for Existence: Female Identity and Patriarchal Negotiation in the Mythical Plays of Girish Karnad

The dramatic works of Girish Karnad occupy a significant place in modern Indian theatre for their creative reinterpretation of myth, history, and folklore within contemporary frameworks. Among the most compelling aspects of his dramaturgy is his nuanced portrayal of women struggling for identity and autonomy within deeply patriarchal structures. This paper examines Yayati, Hayavadana, Naga-Mandala, and The Fire and the Rain to explore how Karnad constructs female subjectivity through mythic narratives while simultaneously critiquing the socio-cultural systems that confine women. Drawing upon feminist and psychoanalytic perspectives, the study argues that Karnad’s women are not passive embodiments of suffering but complex figures negotiating desire, morality, and social expectation. Although many of them ultimately succumb to patriarchal forces, their resistance, questioning, and psychological depth reveal an ongoing yearning for existence beyond prescribed roles. By reworking myth through a modern sensibility, Karnad exposes the persistent gender inequalities embedded in tradition and dramatizes the tension between personal desire and social duty. His female characters inhabit both internal and external worlds, torn between emotional fulfilment and imposed obedience. This paper demonstrates that Karnad’s plays do not merely retell myths; they interrogate them, offering a powerful commentary on the politics of gender and the evolving discourse of female agency in Indian society.