In Clear Light of Day, Tara seems to be a progressive, modern woman in contrast to her more conservative sister, Bim. Both sisters haunted (albeit to different degrees) by the events of their childhood. Not only are those events closely connected to the house in which they grew up, but Bim continues to live in that house.

Bakul, Tara's husband, is a diplomat whose position in the United States depends on his espousing the many accomplishments of the new nation of India. In that regard, his progressive wife seems a good match for him personally and for furthering his career aspirations. Bakul dismisses Tara's need to return home as an acquiescence to the power her sister holds over her and, by extension, a backward-looking, colonialist mentality.

In this regard, his need for his wife's full attention shows his (and in turn, the country's) immaturity. Although he would prefer they dispose of the property, his perspective as a man parallels that of Raja—to whom Bim has become indebted—as another dimension of patriarchal control.