Nectar in a Sieve

Rukmani's brother says that their father is "no longer of consequence," even though he is the village headman. He says, "There is the Collector, who comes to these villages once a year, and to...

Rukmani is pregnant, and she eventually gives birth to a girl, which is a surprise and hard because of the dowry situation. She also takes up writing, which is something new for her and for the...

When Rukmani marries Nathan, he takes her to village, where they will live. It is a six-hour journey by ox-cart from her village. By the time they arrive, she has fallen asleep. He calls out...

Rukmani cries when she gives birth to her daughter because she wanted a boy. In this culture, boys were valued more because they could help their family prosper by working the land. A girl, on the...

The three sisters weddings before Ruku's were extravagant as they married well. Ruku's however was a more somber affair as she married below her Caste. Ruku had to marry below her Caste as her...

I am perplexed. Your statements, "events in the book" and "actions of the characters is appalling(sic)" does not address the particulars you find objectionable. I would also need more information...

Is this response going to be part of a larger essay in which you explore the different ways in which Rukmani changes? If so, you might like to think of your first paragraph as being something of an...

The structure of the chapters is linear, following Nathan and Ruku as they come to their son's wife's home, then struggle to survive homeless in the city. Chapter 26 has two sections and Chapter 27...

Ruku thinks it is not very lucky for a man to marry above himself because "if he does he gets a wife who is no help to him whatsoever, only an ornament". Traditionally, the higher a woman is in...

Kunthi mockingly accuses Ruku of having had a liason with a man when she encounters her returning late at night while her husband is away. In truth, Ruku, who makes derisive insinuations about...