Kamala: Goddess or Temptress
Kamala is a crucial cog in Siddhartha’s hero’s journey, however, there can be two very different interpretations of her role within Joseph Campbell's 17-step hero’s journey. The first is at the goddess, in whose presence the hero is supposed to experience unconditional love. Additionally, the goddess is supposed to drive the hero’s journey forward, usually by giving him something. The second possibility is that Kamala’s role is that of the temptress. The temptress is meant to distract the hero and lead him astray from his goals, usually through physical pleasures. Convincing arguments can be made for either of these roles, but on closer examination, it seems to be the case that she is both the Goddess and the Temptress.
Kamala’s position as the goddess may not seem very convincing on the surface, but upon examination and taking what Siddhartha is trying to achieve into account, she actually seems to push him towards his goals rather than pull him away. Siddhartha aims to understand the world around him better, and in his opinion, the best way to do that is by observing it from as many perspectives as possible. As he says to Govinda “Many people have to change a great deal and wear all sorts of clothes. I am one of those, my friend.”(141). Kamala helps him do that by introducing him to Kamaswami and getting him involved in the lifestyle of the kama-people. Kamala is also the mother of his child. This could be interpreted as her giving him something to drive him forward in his journey. After all, Siddhartha’s son leaving ultimately lead to the "Atonement With the Father” phase of his hero’s journey. The only way that Kamala does not clearly fit within the framework of the hero’s journey is that her love is not unconditional. She makes Siddhartha become rich before she engages in a physical relationship with him, and even then there is said to be an emotional disconnect as well. However, it does seem that by the end of their time together there is an unconditional understanding between them. Kamala understands Siddhartha and his desires in such a profound way that she does not grieve when he leaves, even when she finds out she is pregnant with his son. Siddhartha’s son could also represent the unconditional love he is supposed to receive. After all the only time that Siddhartha really experiences love, up until his enlightenment is when he meets his son.
Kamala’s role as the temptress also has a lot of convincing points behind it. The most important of which is that she does distract him from his goals. Of course, the distraction is necessary in the sense that he has to experience the lifestyle which she offers in order to achieve enlightenment. However, when he has to leave there is inevitably also a temptation holding him back from doing so. There is also an interesting detail in the book that alludes to Kamala as the temptress, the bird. The bird is owned by Kamala and symbolizes Siddhartha. Kamala keeps it in a golden cage, which is a parallel to him being trapped in the rich man's lifestyle. When Siddhartha finally escapes this lifestyle, Kamala then releases the bird, symbolizing that he has escaped temptation. Kamala specifically owning the bird is interesting to me, as it makes her seem more in control over Siddhartha. It implies that she is the temptress as opposed to the kama-people as a whole. And this does make sense, after all, Kamala was the reason that he got involved in that lifestyle in the first place.
There are various arguments that could be made for Kamala being the temptress over the goddess or vice versa but the likely reality is that she serves as both. Just like Siddhartha who constantly changes his identity, Kamala’s relationship with him in regards to her role in his journey changes drastically. She starts off as a goddess helping him in his journey by inviting him to learn about the Kama- people. But this inevitably leads to temptation. He gets too attached, and suddenly Kamala and the lifestyle that comes with her seem like a shackle. A shackle that he is able to break as he escapes to seek a new path. Finally, after years have gone by Kamala returns again briefly as the Goddess. She gives him his son, before promptly dying, giving him the last push he needs to complete his hero’s journey.
Your connection between the bird and Kamala being the temptress is really interesting. i agree that Kamala embodies multiple roles throughout the book. She definitely distracted Siddhartha from his journey but without her playing such a crucial role in his life he would not have ended up where he did. I also think that Siddhartha's views on Kamala changed. He initially viewed her as a teacher and someone who would give him something to reach his goal. He later grew to view his new lifestyle that Kamala gave him as a sort of prison, holding him back from his true potential. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with your point. What sells the argument that Kamala is the Goddess is her delivery of Siddhartha Jr. to Siddhartha, an integral step in completing his hero's journey (this interaction could be argued to be a unique phase in Siddhartha's second mini-journey, but I digress). Ultimately, while Kamala "tempts" Siddhartha in ways, there is nothing inherently evil about her doing so, and she seems to only operate out of care for him. Great post.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting arguments! I did not interpret Kamala as being a temptress because it was really the money and gambling that kept him there, but I can also understand your argument as to why she is
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that Kamala serves as both the goddess and the temptress in Siddhartha's hero's journey. She pushes him towards his goals by introducing him to the Kama-people and helping him understand the world from different perspectives. At the same time, she also distracts him from his goals with the physical pleasures and lifestyle that she offers. However, it is important to note that this distraction is necessary for Siddhartha to achieve enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteThis analysis is really interesting. While I was reading the book I was kind of conflicted on the role Kamala was supposed to be, and this blogpost pretty much summed up all the main points for both sides I feel. I like the idea that Kamala plays multiple roles in the hero's journey though, in that she plays a crucial role that both harms and benefits Siddhartha. Personally I wonder if Kamala really fully plays the role of the temptress though, at times it seemed like the role of the temptress was played by the game itself (rich life) rather than Kamala.
ReplyDeleteI also thought this was really interesting. In fact, I wrote my in class essay on this exact topic, and I had a whole journey of my own to find the answer. I started my essay believing that Kamala was the goddess, and spoke about how she loves Siddhartha, and like you said, pushed him towards his goal. However the more I wrote the more I realized Kamala seemed much more like the temptress, though I also realized Siddhartha wouldn't have been able to reach his goal without Kamala and her temptations.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to put the distinction between "Goddess" and "Temptress" would be to replace the two with "Helper" and "Foil" respectively. In the book, Kamala does much more to help Siddhartha on his journey than ruin it for him by introducing him to this new experience (which Siddhartha rejects). Ironically, the temptation that Kamala gives also serves to advance Siddhartha's journey down the line, so it makes viewing Kamala as either Goddess or Temptress more difficult. It's also important to note Kamala's recurring role in the novel after Siddhartha leaves, as a Buddhist who is also on a spiritual journey.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the explanation of the symbolism behind the bird was very nice.