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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Henna Artist, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Choice, Independence and Women’s Freedoms
Family and Responsibility
Societal Hierarchy vs. Unordered Intimacy
Care and Communication
Creativity vs. Possession
Summary
Analysis
It’s now July, and though Lakshmi hears frequently from Kanta—and more and more from Dr. Kumar—she has yet to get a letter from Radha. Due to nausea and other pregnancy difficulties, Kanta is bedridden while Radha writes the letters, so Lakshmi can pretend she is hearing directly from her sister. Kanta explains that the Shimla air is doing wonders, but that Radha can do nothing but think about baby trinkets. Both women have taken to drinking rose milk, as Kanta’s saas used to push.
Structurally, Dr. Kumar’s increased presence after Samir’s betrayal suggests that he is becoming an alternate romantic option: less charismatic, but devoted to helping people instead of carelessly hurting them. Rose milk is an herbal remedy, the kind Kumar used to frown upon—so its presence in his treatments now shows that Lakshmi has helped expand his view of what constitutes “valid” medicine.
Themes
Kumar writes to say how intelligent he thinks Radha is. He admires her eclectic taste in literature, and he thinks Lakshmi should invest in private tutoring. He is also curious to hear about Lakshmi’s herbal remedies, especially as a mustard poultice she recently sent him helped clear his cough entirely. In Shimla, many people are resistant to Kumar’s Western methods, and he hopes Lakshmi might be able to help him gain his patients’ trust.
More than anyone, Kumar seems to understand the value of communicating clearly: he praises Radha’s literary skills, and he begs Lakshmi to help him build trust and a shared language with his patients. Perhaps most tellingly, he even tries her new remedies himself, wanting to gain firsthand access to the kind of treatments he hopes to prescribe.
Themes
Later that day, Lakshmi gets a package from Samir. He has apologized many times, but she wants nothing to do with him. Still, she opens the package, and she is surprised to see the pen she had gifted Radha months before. Then, it hurts her—Radha gave the pen to Ravi as a gift. For the first time, Lakshmi feels an ache of sympathy for the rejection Radha has experienced.
As ever, Lakshmi sees how each caretaker passes on their lessons. Because she taught Radha to show feelings via gifts instead of words, Radha gave Ravi the pen—one of the only beautiful things she has ever owned. And just as Radha is rejecting Lakshmi despite her best efforts, Radha must now face that same cold shoulder from Ravi, her first love.
Themes
Over the next few weeks, many of Lakshmi’s longest-standing clients start canceling, citing new allergies or vacations as the reasons why they are vanishing. Lakshmi had expected to lose Parvati’s business, but she is shocked that so many others are leaving—especially since Diwali, the festival of lights, is close on the horizon. Malik investigates.
Henna appointments are often linked to Hindu festivals and celebrations, so the absence of appointments during Diwali means there is something intentional about Lakshmi’s loss of clientele. This must be Parvati’s work, since it follows so closely on the news of Radha’s pregnancy.
Themes
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Mrs. Patel doesn’t cancel her appointment, but as Lakshmi hennas her arthritis-ridden hands, her client broaches the rumors: has Lakshmi been stealing things? Though Mrs. Patel does not believe these rumors, she has heard them from multiple sources, and she advises that Mrs. Sharma will know more. Mrs. Patel ends the appointment early but still pays Lakshmi, and though the gesture is meant to be kind, Lakshmi resents feeling pitied.
In this strange scene, the direction of healing is reversed. Lakshmi expects to take care of Mrs. Patel by applying soothing oils to her hands, but instead, Mrs. Patel tries to take care of Lakshmi by helping her understand all the cancellations. Lakshmi’s discomfort with this reversal likely ties back to the lack of care she received as a child.
Themes
When Lakshmi arrives at the Sharmas’ house, the servants deliberate whether or not to let her in. Eventually, though, Lakshmi gains entrance, though only to the drawing room (instead of Mrs. Sharma’s bedroom, which would be more expected). Mrs. Sharma is writing a letter to her son, sending him money so he can keep up with his friends in London. The house is sweltering, and Lakshmi wonders how Mr. Sharma—himself a builder—has neglected to put air conditioning in his own family’s home.
Once again, space dictates and reifies status distinctions—normally, Lakshmi would be allowed into the most private rooms of a house, but now, she is relegated to the less prestigious outer rooms. Mr. Sharma’s lack of attention to his own family mirrors Lakshmi’s father’s willingness to sell her mother’s jewelry for political funding—in both cases, men have placed their professional or intellectual goals over the needs of their wives.
Themes
As the conversation progresses, Lakshmi begins to feel it is final, just like the last “dot of henna on a woman’s skin.” Suddenly, Mrs. Sharma begins to criticize Lakshmi’s mandala from weeks earlier, even though at the time she said it was beautiful. Then, she tries to critique Lakshmi’s henna, but here, too, Lakshmi is firm that her work was quality. So, Mrs. Sharma has to admit to Lakshmi that “you are not at fault here[…]if I tried to make something up, you would see right through it.”
The emphasis on henna as an ephemeral art stands in stark contrast to Lakshmi’s terrazzo floor, which she adores for its marble permanence. Lakshmi has been so focused on the long game that the idea of impermanence is terrifying to her—even though it is baked into her art form of choice. Mrs. Sharma’s honesty here is a sign of respect, and a reminder that the two women share their sense of straightforward practicality.
Themes
Mrs. Sharma goes to get an envelope with coins, which she explains is the marriage commission for the match between Sheela and Ravi. Parvati has requested that Mrs. Sharma give this money to Lakshmi, and that she watches as Lakshmi opens the envelope. When Lakshmi does so, she is horrified to see that there are only 10 rupees in it. With a jolt, Lakshmi understands that Parvati intended to humiliate her in front of Mrs. Sharma.
Parvati had initially promised Lakshmi 9,000 rupees for the marriage commission, so this 10-rupee sum is intended to humiliate and devalue Lakshmi. In addition to publicly shaming her in front of Mrs. Sharma, Parvati is demonstrating that she has total social power: she can mobilize all of the powerful women to shun Lakshmi, and Lakshmi cannot push back. After all, as Lakshmi knows, she is “replaceable”—and Parvati is not.
Themes
Sadly, Mrs. Sharma explains that Parvati has accused Lakshmi of stealing. Though she does not believe the rumors, she has to honor them, as Parvati is now her relative by marriage. Lakshmi is enraged, especially given that she spent so much time pampering Parvati. Struck by the unfairness of the whole situation, Lakshmi muses that she has “followed their rules. Swallowed their insults[…]dodged their husbands’ wandering hands,” and still, it is not enough.
Parvati’s high class and caste status allow her to manipulate the very idea of what is true: everyone knows this is a false rumor, but everyone is too afraid of losing their place on the social ladder to contest it. In this vital quote, Lakshmi reflects how her gender and caste roles force her to play a game she can never win, no matter how much she sacrifices or follows “the rules.”
Themes
Lakshmi normally respects Mrs. Sharma for her practicality and stoicism, but now, she wishes Mrs. Sharma would just show her some sympathy. Reflecting that Radha is like her “personal monsoon,” Lakshmi wonders if anything will ever be okay again. Lakshmi prepares to leave Mrs. Sharma’s house, and as she goes, Mrs. Sharma wishes her luck.
Earlier, monsoons represented catharsis for Latika. Now, Radha is a “monsoon” (rainstorm) of chaos. Implicitly, this metaphor hints that despite the pain and confusion Radha has brought to Lakshmi’s life, she might eventually be a force for cleansing and renewal.
Themes
