ABSTRACT
This paper explores the theme of mental trauma in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novel The Palace of Illusions, a feminist reimagining of the Indian epic Mahabharata from the perspective of Draupadi, here renamed Panchaali. Unlike traditional portrayals that emphasize her mythic or political significance, Divakaruni foregrounds Panchaali's emotional and psychological struggles. Drawing from trauma theory and feminist psychoanalysis, this study examines how Panchaali's identity is fragmented through systemic oppression, public humiliation, coerced relationships, and survivor's guilt.
Her trauma is shown to be cumulative and embedded in social structures that silence women, normalize suffering, and deny moral agency. The paper further compares Panchaali's experience to those of other literary and mythological women—such as Sita, Helen of Troy, Medea, and Sethe—highlighting how narratives of female pain are consistently politicized, aestheticized, or erased across traditions.
Ultimately, The Palace of Illusions functions as both a literary healing and an act of feminist resistance. Panchaali's voice becomes a vehicle through which silenced pain is made visible, dignified, and narratively restored. Her story reminds us that mythic heroines, like modern survivors, deserve not just justice—but understanding.
