Summary

Later on the day that Suhasini was chased from the narrator’s house, Venkatachala remained in his room until lunch was announced. The family ate while Amma (who regularly eats after everyone else) served. There seemed to be a sense of tenseness in the air, and Anita exacerbated its intensity when she referred to the wasted masoor dal curry from earlier that day. Amma questioned whether Anita knew what she had said. Anita responded that she wished Amma had taken the food offering from Suhasini. Amma and Anita began to verbally fight. Anita posed the question: “If women don’t support other women, who will?” (99)

During this bout of argument, Venkatachala left the room. The narrator then instructed Anita to stop, but Anita and Amma continued to throw jabs at one another. Malati then defended Amma, asserting that if they accepted anyone off the...