Over the centuries, the idealised roles women were expected to play in Indian society have embodied in images of Hindu deities. Society, particularly the male Brahmanical elite, expected decent upper caste women to conform to the image of the benign Spouse Goddess. The upper caste woman, like the Spouse Goddess, was expected to be a worshipful and dutiful mate to her husband. She appears as Sarasvati, wife of Brahma; Lakshmi, paired with Vishnu; and Parvati, mate of Shiva. The Spouse Goddess' sexuality is controlled by marriage and is directed towards procreation, particularly of male heirs.
When control of the Spouse Goddess' sexuality is lost, and she is (or is thought) unfaithful she becomes the Spouse-Goddess-out-of-control, a motive force in many of India's epic tales
Devi has her probable origins as an earth Goddess in the Indus Valley Civilization. She has been continuously worshipped in India's little tradition, in different forms and ways. She represents overt sexuality and enjoys parity with males in economic and political activity. In her various modes she embodies the egalitarianism and open sexuality exhibited by lower caste Hindu women.
Scholars have often confused the Spouse-Goddess-out-of-control with Devi and have not understood the interplay of these images of goddesses and women's status in Indian society. Lynn Gatwood's brilliant and provocative study of Indian religion and society is certain to generate controversy. But it casts new light on the interaction of ideology and culture in Indian history. The book will permanently change one's perceptions of Indian women, of their relationships with men, particularly through marriage, and of the Goddesses of the Hindu Pantheon.
