Author: Dr. Sreekala.B

Abstract: Kavita Kane’s writings are from the perspective of mythological women characters, and she placed them as the protagonists of her fictionalized retellings. Their resourcefulness, diplomatic skills, intellectual capabilities, oratory skills as well as their longings, despair and helplessness are revealed through her narration. In Kane’s Tara’s Truce , the heroine is the Vanara woman Tara, who was the wife of the mighty Vanara king Vali. Her sense of astuteness, her fair and righteous dealings with people, her high sense of intelligence, her sense of handling situations in the most appropriate manner, her sincere and efficient oratorial skills while dealing with turbulent situations -all these contribute to create a woman infinitely worthy and strong. A significant element in the fictionalized retelling is the equations of the relationships of almost all characters portrayed in the work. Social exchange theory is a concept based on the notion that a relationship between two people is created through a process of cost-benefit analysis. Social penetration theory also defines the types of relationship, and it was developed to explain how information exchange functions in the development and dissolution of interpersonal relationships. In the retelling, the truce that Tara entered is solely by counting the benefits, though she claimed her deeds as belonging to the highest form of self-sacrifice. The relationship equations in Tara’s Truce could not be gauged completely by the theories of relationships. Even the protagonist Tara and almost all the major characters insisted on their selflessness in their relationships and their unconditional love for each other. But as we trace these relationships and observe them through the veil of the theories, we can’t obliterate the relevance of the models of the Social Penetration Theory and Social Exchange Theory in Tara’s Truce.

Keywords: Mythology, Feminism, Relationships, Selflessness, Theories

Article Info: Received: 30 Sep 2025; Received in revised form: 25 Oct 2025; Accepted: 29 Oct 2025; Available online: 31 Oct 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.105.86