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Chapter 5
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 the night of Parvati’s henna party, and Radha and Lakshmi are hard at work painting the hands of the richest girls in Jaipur. While the girls listen to records and read magazines, Sheela Sharma chats to her friends, acting as the queen bee of her social circle. From the girls’ gossip, Lakshmi learns that Ravi will be performing Othello with his Shakespeare troupe tonight.
Wealth translates to physical beauty, but Sheela’s power in her friend group suggests that class and popularity are also intrinsically linked. The upper classes—the Sharmas and Singhs—also have more access to Western culture, from records to magazines to Shakespearean performance, another legacy of the British colonial system.
Themes
Meanwhile, Radha keeps her head down, so that Sheela will not recognize her from their standoff the other day. While Radha paints Sheela’s hand, Sheela lobs barbed comments at her friends and complains about Mr. Pandey, her music teacher. Radha intensifies her grip, and Sheela gets angry. It seems to click in her mind that she has seen Radha before, much to Lakshmi’s dismay.
Mr. Pandey is, in some ways, another Lakshmi: both are highly skilled members of the lower classes who serve Jaipur’s wealthy. Mocking Pandey, then, is almost like mocking Lakshmi—and Radha’s anger at these jabs likely stems, too, from her humiliation at the hands of the gossip-eaters.
Themes
Radha smooths over the situation, and Lakshmi feels hope and relief. Soon, the match will be made, she will get the palace commission, and she will lead a peaceful, comfortable life with Radha. Lakshmi finishes Sheela’s hands, and the girls head outside to the party, which is filled with snacks, servants, and gold jewelry. Radha is awed by the opulence, and Lakshmi agrees that they can stay for a bit.
Even as Radha resents the stratification of city life, the opulence is hard for her to ignore. Like her older sister, then, Radha struggles to balance her values with her desire to gain access to the delicious foods and shiny jewelry.
Themes
The sisters look out the window, and Lakshmi points out Manu, Kanta’s husband, talking to an older man in a Nehru cap. As the two go back and forth, it is clear that the older man is trying to bribe the maharaja. “This,” Lakshmi whispers to Radha, “is how roads, petrol pumps[…]get built. Before independence, that man was a cobbler.”
Government exchange works just like Lakshmi’s business: in a society with such clear roles of caste and behavior, backroom deals and trades that masquerade as socializing are essential to get anything done.
Themes
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The sisters move to the next window, where they see Parvati, dressed in pink satin, gossiping with her friends. Some of the friends are complaining about how the maharajas have no money, preferring to spend it all on fancy cars, tiger hunts, and polo. Parvati defends these princes, since she is from the same class (and enjoys many of the same activities) as the maharajas. The women joke that maharajas tend to pursue politics or real estate in all their leisure time.
One of the important ways class stratifications show up in the novel is the difference between leisure and labor. For Parvati and her Rajput (princely caste) brethren, labor is a choice; she can engage with Indian politics or foreign affairs, but only if that suits her fancy. For Lakshmi, Lala, and Pandey, labor is a necessity—and often their labor is directly geared towards the richest people’s relaxation.
Themes
Lakshmi and Radha shift their gaze to see the maharaja himself, impressing a group of men that includes Samir. Then, Radha sees Ravi jog out in his Othello costume. He looks handsome, and Radha is reminded of reading Othello with her pitaji. Lakshmi thinks it is time to leave, but before they can exit, Samir surprises them.
The maharaja’s presence confirms the importance and prestige of this party. It is worth noting that Radha’s first association with Ravi—in addition to his wealth and status—reminds her of her father’s beloved books. Though most of Lakshmi and Radha’s time with their pitaji was tragic, his literary inclination was the bright light of their family, a brightness that now gets linked (in Radha’s mind) to Ravi.
Themes
Samir does not seem to recognize Radha from the night with Mrs. Harris, but he shamelessly flirts with her. This surprises Lakshmi, as Radha is so young. Still, Samir remains in her good graces when he announces that they have a meeting with the maharani tomorrow. Beyond that, Samir has also gotten Naraya to agree to an extension for Lakshmi’s payments. He comments again on Radha’s beauty and invites the sisters to stay for the Othello performance.
Samir’s willingness to flirt with 13-year-old Lakshmi is another sign that he is not as charming as Lakshmi sees him to be. Lakshmi’s dependency on Samir’s help and friendship, however, keeps her from recognizing his uglier sides.
Themes
Samir brings Lakshmi into his library, where he presents her with a beautiful gold watch, custom engraved with a picture of a henna artist and the letter “L.” Lakshmi is moved, but her excitement turns to fear when she sees a rustle of pink satin in the doorway.
In contrast to Lakshmi’s henna, which is low-cost and ephemeral, Samir’s gift is lavish and made of metal, meant to last forever. Lakshmi and Radha spotted Parvati wearing pink satin earlier in the night, so the rustle in the doorway suggests that she might have seen Samir give Lakshmi this gift.
Themes
Lakshmi and Radha watch the performances: Sheela sings beautifully, and Ravi is a good actor. The whole time, though, Lakshmi wonders what it will be like to meet with the dowager maharani: what supplies will she need? What is wrong with the younger maharani, Latika? Lakshmi is so nervous that she barely touches her creamy, delicious food. After the shows, Lakshmi asks the cooks about Lala—and learns that neither she nor her niece are still employed by the Singhs.
In multiple ways, this passage shows the evils of inequality. First, Lakshmi cannot enjoy the spectacle of the party because she is so anxious about the next event, the next way she will advance her status; even leisure activities are not relaxing. And worse still, Lala’s firing reflects Lakshmi’s earlier concern: that all servants, no matter how beloved, are ultimately “replaceable.”
Themes
At the end of the night, Parvati summons Lakshmi to the library. She is livid: apparently, Ravi and Radha have been playing with each other. The proof is in the blue streaks of greasepaint that go across Radha’s face and arms. Lakshmi asks what Ravi said about this, but Parvati does not accept this logic. “You know as well as I do men can’t control themselves,” she snaps. “It is up to women to stay out of their way.”
Parvati’s misogynist logic reflects how much she has internalized the rigid gender norms of Jaipur society, placing the burden on women for men’s lack of “control.” This tense comment also suggests that she knows more about Samir’s infidelity than she will openly reveal to Lakshmi.
Themes
Lakshmi sends Radha to clean her face, and she calms Parvati down slowly, assuring her that Ravi would never be interested in such a young girl. Parvati wishes that Samir would be more involved and pushes Lakshmi to explain why she was in the library with Samir. Lakshmi tells her that Samir was helping her into the palace, and both women ignore the truth: that Parvati failed to make the connection she’d promised, so Lakshmi had to go behind her back.
Parvati’s marital pain is masked by her economic power, as Lakshmi explains away her intimacy with Samir as yet another financial deal. Implicit in Lakshmi’s explanation of the palace mishap is a suggestion that Parvati failed to abide by social norms—and therefore Lakshmi has found some leverage over her boss.
Themes
Parvati is still not content, though, and she wonders why she so often sees Samir talking to Lakshmi (“what could you and Samir have in common?”). Lakshmi says that Samir just asks what patterns she has painted on his wife’s body, an answer that pleases Parvati, who thinks back to “lusty afternoon[s].” Parvati also asks about Radha, and Lakshmi gives her the same stock story she gave Kanta.
Parvati’s assertion that Samir and Lakshmi could have nothing in “common” suggests she believes people from different castes are fundamentally alien to each other. In this exchange, then, Lakshmi must navigate social stratification by drawing on the gender identity she shares with Parvati, which she does by gossiping about the changing winds of male desire.
Themes
Lakshmi also reminds Parvati that she helped her conceive her youngest son. Parvati is grateful—but before she leaves, she warns Lakshmi that Radha must stay away from Ravi. As soon as Lakshmi has the library to herself, she panics, for she knows that Parvati is also implicitly telling her to stay away from Samir. Without Parvati, Lakshmi’s entire business will collapse.
The twin relationships between Radha and Ravi and Lakshmi and Samir emphasizes the parallels between the sisters, even if Lakshmi tends to focus on the contrasts. The stakes are especially high since, as Lakshmi explains, Parvati (via Samir) was her introduction to all of Jaipur’s wealthy ladies.
Themes
Lakshmi hurries away, and Radha and Malik join her, assuring her that Radha did nothing wrong. Radha merely teased Ravi about his Othello costume, prompting him to touch her face and arm. Malik backs this up. Lakshmi realizes that she has never seen Radha flirt before, so she has no sense of what Radha does and doesn’t know about men. She sends Malik away, telling him to meet her at the palace the next day—but after the long night, he can hardly muster excitement.
Though the sisters share blue eyes, an interest in the wealthy Singh men, and an aptitude for henna, Lakshmi knows so little about how Radha behaves outside of the context of this little trio. In particular, Lakshmi—who herself was married at 15—struggles to square her sister’s naivete with her nascent adolescent desires (and with the way she is perceived by men like Ravi and Samir).
Themes
Radha’s stomach hurts from the heavy food, so once they get home, Lakshmi makes her warm milk with turmeric. While Radha recovers, Lakshmi reminds her of the stakes: if something like this with Ravi happens again, the whole business will collapse. Radha insists that he touched her, but Lakshmi does not hear her. Instead, Lakshmi wonders aloud that “you’re my sister, Radha, but I don’t know you that well.”
As a member of lower social status, Lakshmi must think about her business at all times—and because she knows she will be held responsible for Radha’s actions, she expects the same caution from her sister. Moreover, even though Lakshmi is one of the more actively feminist characters in the novel, she cannot help but internalize that Radha is (at least in part) at fault for what happened with Ravi.
Themes
Radha erupts, telling Lakshmi that her lack of knowledge about Radha’s inner life is because she’s never thought to ask. Privately, Lakshmi knows that being close to Radha only makes her guilt about leaving Ajar more intense. But out loud, Lakshmi does not explain this, only stressing again to Radha how little she trusts her. Radha feels like she has again been marked as “the Bad Luck Girl.”
This is a pattern with Lakshmi: her lack of questions about Radha’s life mirrors her reflection that she had “never asked” about Malik’s family, despite spending all her time with him. Lakshmi’s lack of inquiry comes from a place of great care and guilt—but she cannot articulate this, leading Radha to mistake her sister’s silence as disinterest. In other words, because Lakshmi cannot communicate her care, Radha is unable to feel it.
Themes
Lakshmi makes her decision: tomorrow, Radha will go read to Kanta instead of coming to the palace. Lakshmi is certain she is doing the right thing, but she can’t help but think of her maa, who had the same certainty when she married her off to Hari. Lakshmi reaches for Radha’s arm, but Radha pulls away.
Given that her husband sold her gold without asking, Lakshmi’s maa is deeply familiar with subordinating her own desires to her family’s. In this moment, Lakshmi begins to see how family trauma is passed down: her mother had no choice, so she gave Lakshmi no choice, and now Lakshmi is similarly depriving Radha of options.
Themes
