The Narrator

She is the granddaughter of Douglas and Tessie Rivers. Since the two had one child, a son, her last name is probably Rivers (her first name is never mentioned). She is in her 20s. She travels to India to learn what had happened to Douglas' first wife, Olivia. She travels light, arriving with little more than basic necessities, her journal and the letters Olivia had written to Marcia back in 1923. One of the first things she does after renting a room in Satipur is purchase Indian clothing—loose pants and a long shirt—at the bazaar (because they are more practical).

When summer arrives, she sleeps with the other inhabitants of her building in the open court yard (because the heat makes sleeping inside unbearable). She is befriended by her new landlord's mother, who introduces her to the other women of Satipur. She and Inder...