The Guide: Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

Raju’s transformation into a tourist guide is the first of many such transformations that he undergoes throughout his life. Here, his penchant for disguise and dishonesty becomes apparent, given that Raju makes up many of the facts and stories that he tells his tourist clients—giving no heed to whether these facts and stories have any basis in reality. Furthermore, Raju’s fixation on reaping the maximum profit from his clients points to his greed and materialism, qualities which often drive him to exploit others.

Rosie and Marco are the only two clients that Raju mentions by name in narrating his history as a tourist guide. This indicates that they have a special impact on Raju—they are unlike many of the other clients that he has shown around Malgudi. Indeed, Raju’s feelings towards Rosie and her husband seem to be extreme. While he is clearly enamored with the wife, he expresses a deep revulsion for her know-it-all husband. These extreme feelings do not bode well; they suggest that Raju, from the very beginning of his encounter with Rosie and Marco, becomes too emotionally involved too quickly.

Rosie’s imitation of the snake’s movement under the shade of a tree is an important moment in the novel. It is at this moment that Raju not only recognizes Rosie’s immense talent as a dancer, but is also completely captivated by her as a woman. The power of Rosie’s imitation of the snake is also significant because it alludes to the depth of her own artistic and feminine potency. Rosie is a force to be reckoned with both as an artist and as a woman, and this is perhaps why Raju finds himself so deeply attracted to her. And yet, Rosie has a husband—Marco’s appearance at the end of this scene, demanding the prompt arrival of the car the next morning, is a reminder that Rosie is not a free woman.

The events of the next morning reveal that all is not well in the marriage between Marco and Rosie. This is to Raju’s benefit, who immediately seeks to take advantage of the situation by asking permission from Marco to approach Rosie. Raju’s hypocrisy is on full display here: while he pretends that he is doing the husband a favor by seeking to conciliate his wife, in fact he is only looking for a way to get closer to Rosie, at a cost to Marco.

Raju deploys all of his powers of seduction to come closer to Rosie. Here, as with the villagers whom he hoodwinks largely through his mystifying statements, Raju reveals his great gifts for eloquence. In the compliments and the flatteries that he conveys to Rosie, he seems to deduce exactly what she wants to hear. His hypocrisy, however, is further confirmed in his interaction with Marco. The latter has no idea that Raju has convinced Rosie to join them essentially by attempting to seduce her. In this way, Raju, while pretending to “serve’ Marco to his face, in fact undermines him behind his back.

Mempi Hills, where Peak House is located, is a wild and beautiful area outside of Malgudi. The varied landscape of the town and its surroundings suggests the broader landscape of India as a whole, which is composed of urban centers as well as a vast natural landscape. At Peak House, Raju’s infatuation with Rosie grows. His strong response to her accidental touch suggests the depth and the passion of his feelings for her.

The wild setting of Peak House, including the wild animals that surround it, allude to the wild, animalistic passion that Raju himself feels for Rosie. Indeed, in this scene, Raju is so stimulated and excited by Rosie’s proximity that he seems unable even to control his physical reactions—he breathes so loudly that Rosie asks him what is the matter. Raju’s wild passion and his limitless desire for closeness with Rosie is contrasted with Marco’s coolness and distance; while Raju and Rosie are busy watching the animals, Marco retreats to his scholarly study.

The troubles that plague Marco and Rosie’s marriage bubble to the surface again, as, for the second time, Rosie refuses to leave her room and to accompany her husband on an outing. Raju rightly notes that Marco seems to be much more interested in the caves and the friezes that decorate them than he is in anything else—including the troubles with his wife, on which is he is silent to Raju. Marco’s lack of interest in anything but the caves indicates the insensitivity of his character; he is, indeed, more preoccupied with dead and decaying things than with the living.

Rosie’s statement that she and Marco disagree about most things reveals that the troubles that plague the marriage run deep. Raju again takes advantage of the conflict between Marco and Rosie to ingratiate himself to Rosie. His intention to seduce her is reflected in the fact that, at every opportunity, Raju resorts to flattering and complimenting her in way that appeases her ego—by reassuring her of the brilliance of her dance, and by declaring his feelings. Raju behaves boldly, but in a very calculated way.

Rosie’s background reflects her position as a woman at the crossroads of modernity and tradition. On the one hand, she exemplifies a traditional identity as a member of a lower caste of temple dancers. On the other hand, she is a woman who pursues and completes her education—this is presumably unusual for a woman, particularly one of her caste. That Rosie, at the prompting of her family, marries Marco because of his wealth and class, also suggests her desire to escape the constraints that are imposed on her as a result of her poverty and low social status. As such, Rosie had clearly hoped that a husband such as Marco would bring her freedom. But this deliverance comes at a price, given that she must give up her family’s ancestral art of dance.

By letting Raju touch her, Rosie begins to collude in the betrayal of her husband. Raju further encourages this impulse on her part by taking to flattering and complimenting her again. The development of the relationship is indicated in the fact that the physical contact between Raju and Rosie grows, as he holds her hand that night in the veranda. By this point, the relationship between Rosie and Raju has progressed well beyond the bounds of propriety, given that she is a married woman.

The taxi driver, Gaffur is, the first to catch on to the fact that something is not quite right in the relationship between Raju and Rosie. The implicit disapproval that he expresses through his suspicious gaze suggests that what Raju and Rosie are embarking on is not only inappropriate, but also immoral, given Rosie’s status as a married woman.

In becoming so preoccupied with Marco and especially Rosie, Raju seems to have neglected the rest of his life back in Malgudi—including his mother. Raju’s infatuation with Rosie does not seem to be having a good influence on him. Gaffur’s explicit warning to Raju about Rosie is wise, and yet, Raju’s own ill judgment is reflected in the fact that he does not heed Gaffur’s words, and continues his pursuit of Rosie. Ultimately, he gets what he wants: once he enters Rosie’s hotel room, the affair commences in earnest.