Myth, Memory, and Gender: Female Mythological Characters as Cultural Memory in British and Indian Poetry

Abstract

Myth has long been studied in literary criticism as a symbolic or archetypal structure; however, such approaches often universalise myth at the expense of cultural specificity and historical continuity. This paper repositions myth as a living system of cultural memory and examines female mythological characters as gendered mnemonic agents in British and Indian poetry. Drawing on Cultural Memory Studies—particularly the theoretical frameworks of Jan Assmann, Aleida Assmann, and Astrid Erll—the study shifts the critical axis from what myth represents to what myth remembers and transmits. Through a comparative textual analysis of selected British poets (Keats, Shelley, Yeats) and Indian English poets (Sarojini Naidu, Sri Aurobindo, Vivekananda), the paper explores how female mythological figures such as Helen, Medusa, Maeve, Sita, Savitri, and Kali function as repositories of collective memory, ethical values, and cultural continuity. The study demonstrates that poetry serves as a powerful medium of memory preservation by continually reactivating mythological narratives in emotionally resonant forms. It further argues that gender plays a crucial role in shaping cultural remembrance, as women are repeatedly positioned as carriers of emotional, moral, and civilizational memory across cultures. By integrating myth criticism with cultural memory theory and gender studies, this paper offers a fresh methodological direction for mythological analysis and contributes to interdisciplinary debates in comparative literature, memory studies, and gender discourse.