Homeless Bird

In this section, Sass’s grief over her son’s death incites escalating conflict between her and Koly. Before Hari dies, caring for him creates a shared bond between Koly and Sass. When they realize that he won’t get better, they hold each other as they cry. Koly says of Sass, “ If she wished me gone, or I believed her unkind, neither of us thought of such things now. All that was in our minds was our worry over Hari” (51). After Hari’s death, and without him to unite them, Koly and Sass’s relationship devolves further. Koly has heard of families murdering their son’s widows to be rid of them. She doesn’t think Sass would do that, but she fights back against Sass’s spitefulness lest it destroy her spirit. In the novel’s central conflict, Koly’s primary goal is self-actualization in a society that treats widows as worthless. The main obstacle to Koly’s recognition of her self-worth and creation of a meaningful identity is now Sass, thereby casting her as the antagonist. In the immediate wake of Hari’s death, Koly thinks she’s “nothing now” (52)—not a daughter, wife, or daughter-in-law. The only identity left to her according to custom is widow, which—based on how her society treats widows—may be worse than no identity at all. Koly says of Sass’s verbal and emotional abuse, “She made my own name hateful to me” (59). Cultural traditions leave Koly at the mercy of her late husband’s family, with no power or rights to protect herself or her interests.

Learning to read is an important turning point for Koly; having access to knowledge empowers her. She has been put in a position of helplessness, fully dependent on her in-laws and a society that devalues her. Access to knowledge empowers Koly, creating an opportunity for her to change her circumstances and shape her own identity. It establishes her Coming-of-Age as a Journey from Helplessness to Independence, a central theme that the novel develops through tracking Koly’s internal conflict between hope and hopelessness. In these chapters, hopelessness prevails. Looking at Hari, her hope that the Ganges will heal him slips away “like a frightened mouse into a dark hole” (42). She sees that no matter how hard she works, nothing will please Sass, and her hope of being loved or treated with kindness in the Mehta household fades. As she prepares to say goodbye to Chandra, her last ally, she doesn’t know how she can ever be happy again. Koly’s helplessness, her lack of control over her life, fuels her hopelessness. However, her ability to read diminishes Sass’s control over her: “[N]o matter what Sass thought, the secrets in the books were now mine, and try as she might, she could not snatch them away” (75). Learning to read is how Koly begins her journey to independence and hope.

Chandra’s characterization helps thematically demonstrate The Impacts of Cultural Traditions on Women’s Rights and Identities. She’s a sympathetic character—kind to Koly, cheerful, pretty—but accepts the status quo of gender inequality without question. When Koly offers to teach her to read, she says, “I have no need. My parents are looking for a husband for me” (67). Of her arranged marriage to Raman, she tells Koly, “If I am a good wife, he will be good to me” (79). She’s perfectly satisfied with the cultural taboos against girls learning to read and seemingly accepts the idea that if a husband abuses his wife, it’s because she hasn’t been a good wife. Thus, the novel indicates that when women like Chandra accept their society’s gender inequality and the ideas used to justify it, they become part of the system that reinforces inequality. Koly doesn’t blame Chandra for it, just as she doesn’t blame her for taking Koly’s widow’s pension, because she knows that Chandra has as little power as herself. Chandra’s parents are the ones who stole Koly’s money. Chandra accepted it because it was the only way she’d have a dowry, as custom dictates she must in order to marry. Chandra isn’t spiteful or bad; she’s merely a product of her environment. Her acceptance of this environment is a result of social customs that cultivate ignorance (like taboos against girls reading) and reward adherence (like lavish wedding ceremonies). The outcome, a cycle of oppression and gender inequality, is the metaphorical cage that Koly must escape before she can define her own identity.

Chapter 4 weaves the inspiration for the book’s title, a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, into the plot. Sassur’s copy of the book, signed by the famed Indian poet, inspires Koly. In her favorite poem, about a “homeless bird, always flying on to somewhere else” (74), Koly sees herself. She feels like a homeless bird because she’s not welcomed or loved in her household. Without love and a sense of belonging, she can never feel at home. Her character arc is defined by her journey to find love and belonging, ending with the symbolic bird finally finding its home.