Tamilmanam International Research Journal of Tamil Studies

In the tradition of Tamil literature, ornament has long been considered a symbol of a woman's beauty and wealth. This research article re-reads that assumption through Jeyamohan's novel Venmurasu. Statements regarding the ornaments of the female characters in Venmurasu have been taken as primary data. In particular, the study discusses in depth a woman's feeling of saying ‘as a woman, I am bearing these ornaments,’ the bitterness she feels upon seeing her decorated image in the mirror, the shudder she feels — as if touching a dead body — at the place where the ornaments touch her, the desire to change into simple clothes while being unable to do so, the burden of chastity carried in the statement ‘jewellery is to show that your heart has blossomed for your husband,’ and the command of authority that ‘a queen must always be adorned with ornaments.’