“Once one is born a woman, she should be careful to preserve her purity”: Representation of Female Characters as Lessons for Women in Dalang by King Rama I

Abstract

This paper studies the representation of female characters in Dalang by King Rama I and examines the lessons for women, reflecting on their representation. The study finds that the female characters in Dalang represent various types of woman in relation to and opposite to the ideal qualities of women. Such representation explicitly indicates life lessons for women with regard to what a woman should and should not be. Those lessons harmonize with the concept of womankind expressed in some Panji stories and Thai female didactic literature. Lessons for women expressed through the representation of female characters enhance the value and significance of Dalang as a female didactic literary work.