The text offers the bare facts of the events surrounding Nana's death: we are not privy to Nana's interiority or, in other words, her private thoughts, so we have to piece together her reasons for suicide. We know she is very distressed that Mariam is going to visit Jalil on her own. Nana realizes that Mariam is separating from her and starting to grow up and become her own person, capable of making her own decisions. Nana fears this. She fears losing Mariam, her all in all, and tries to use manipulation to keep Mariam close. She tells Mariam that she will swallow her tongue and die if her daughter leaves, implying she will have an epileptic fit and that it will be Mariam's fault.

But Nana's wishes to keep Mariam from Jalil are not primarily selfish. Nana knows that Jalil is deeply ashamed that Mariam is his illegitimate daughter and will hurt her by rejecting her. Jalil might have some bit of love for Mariam, but he is embarrassed at the idea of acknowledging their relationship.

Mariam is taken home by Jalil's driver, crushed and with a renewed sense of her mother's wisdom, only to find her hanging from the willow tree.