ABSTRACT
The chapter will focus on women who deviated or transgressed from chastity and critically analyse the characters involved, the nature of the deviance, and the basis of the circumstances involved – there were women who were considered unchaste without any fault of theirs, while in some cases, though they transgressed willingly, they were not considered as sinful. The issues involved in this paradoxical situation are dealt with in this chapter. The treatment meted out to the unchaste woman, whether she committed it willingly or was forced, is equally interesting. Man’s fall from chastity, ordeal, and punishment also form a part of the discourse.
