The Lowland: Part 4, Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

As Subhash adjusts to life with Gauri, he notes the careful ways their routines are aligned but not intertwined. Gauri walks through the living room, often, as if Subhash is not even there. Subhash believes that once the baby comes, things will change, and he and Gauri will come together not only as parents but as husband and wife.

Subhash runs into Narasimhan, who invites Subhash and Gauri over for dinner. The night of the dinner party, Subhash and Gauri arrive at the house to find a number of Indian couples already there. Subhash is relieved to see that as the party goes on, Gauri is mingling with the other wives—after the party, however, on the way home, Gauri seems tired and annoyed. Subhash suggests Gauri pursue friendships with other women, noting that their presence will be helpful after the baby arrives, but Gauri insists she does not need or want friendship with those women—she has “nothing in common with them,” she says.

A few days later, Subhash arrives home to an empty apartment. On Gauri’s bureau are the shredded remnants of all her saris, which she has cut into scraps with kitchen scissors. A few minutes later, Subhash hears Gauri coming in the front door. He goes to greet her and sees that she has cut her hair into a short bob and is dressed in slacks and a sweater. Subhash asks Gauri why she ruined her clothes and cut her hair—she replies only that she was “tired” of her old things and her old appearance.

That night, Subhash has an erotic dream about Gauri. He wakes up confused and aroused. Though they are legally married, he feels guilty for having such feelings for her—he knows it is too soon. He cannot deny, though, that just as he as inherited Udayan’s wife and child, he has inherited a need for Gauri physically.