Women in Mahabharata - Seeta (Ramopakhyana)
She is a daughter of the King Janaka of Videha, married to the elder prince Rama of Ayodhya. "Yam chakaara swayam Tvashta Raama-sya mahishim priyaam" [Hence, Tvashta [Vishwakarma] built [her] to be Rama's favourite wife].
She follows her husband when he is exiled to the forest. There her husband gets involved in a conflict with the local rakshasa community headed by Khara, Dooshana and Shoorpanakha.
Humiliated by Rama, when her nose and lips are cut off, Shoorpanakha encourages her older brother Raavana to seek revenge.
Raavana decides to use his minister Maareecha to lure Rama away from his house, and use that opportunity to kidnap Seeta. He assumes Rama will end himself out of the grief of losing his wife.
When Rama is thus lured away from their house on Godavari, Seeta, hearing fake calls of help in Raama's voice, accuses Lakshmana of staying back only to have an opportunity to be with Seeta in his brother's absence.
Ravana, in this time, approaches Seeta and tries to convince her to leave Rama for him. Seeta angrily rebukes him saying, "Katham hi peetva maaddhvi-kam peetva cha madhumaadhaveem?" [Tell me, that once I have drunk the wine made out of madhavi flowers, can I drink the liquour of rice?]
Ravana then angrily seized her by the hair and started amking his way back towards his kingdom, known as Lanka. Seeta sobbed for relief, but even the King Dasharatha's [her father-in-law] friend Jatayu couldn't save her.
Then, as Raavana flew above, Seeta, threw her jewellery aiming for every ashram, lake and river enroute so as to mark her route. Finally, seeing a group of five vanara men atop a hill, she smartly threw down her yellow vaasa.
Undeterred, Raavana still takes Seeta to Lanka, and keeps her in a mansion near his Ashoka garden. Seeta ties up her hair in a half-jata, and like that of a woman performing penace survives off of fruits she is given.
Here, a rakshasi woman named Trijata befriends and consoles her. She also introduces Seeta to Avindhya, who is sympathetic to her cause, and therefore informs her of both Rama's friendship with Sugreeva and of Raavana's curse by his [sort-of] daughter-in-law Rambha that he will be unable to touch an unwilling woman.
Raavana's next attempt to convince Seeta to marry him includes eulogies to Kubera and his own likeness to his brother. It is not successful [namedropping, honestly!].
Seeta is then, after some time, delighted to meet Hanuman, who she had heard of from Avindhya, and gives him a gem with the identifying message that she had seen Rama kill a crow with an ishika-astra [weapon resembling a blade of grass] on the Chitrakoota hill.
After Rama finally manages to kill Raavana, Vibheeshana [Raavana's younger brother] returns Seeta to him. Now, Rama disowns her with extremely harsh words on account of her unwilling stay in Raavana's house and directs her to go wherever she likes.
Seeta is deeply insulted. She fumes as she proclaims her loyalty to Rama, by swearing in the name of the pancha-bhootas: Agni, Apah, Aakasha, Prithvi and Vaayu.
Hearing this, magically, Vayu, Agni, Varuna and Brahma also swear by her loyalty.
The ghost of Dasharatha too appears, swears on behalf of his daughter-in-law and commands Rama to now return to Ayodhya and assume control of the administration as was intended for him.
Thereupon, Rama rewards Trijata and Avindhya, while Seeta blesses Hanuman for their support to both of them through this ordeal. After this the couple return to Ayodhya, take back the kingdom from a still atoning Bharata and Rama performs the dasha-ashvamedha yajna.