Aruna Character Analysis

Aruna is the pretty, confident, and socially ambitious younger sister of Uma and second daughter of Mama and Papa. As a child, school comes easily to Aruna, though she takes no interest in it. While she is kind and helpful to Uma during their childhoods, she becomes snappy and superior when they approach adolescence, laughing at Uma's rejection by prospective husbands. Aruna, on the other hand, is so sexual and graceful that marriage proposals pour in for her. She marries Arvind, a wealthy, handsome man from Bombay. She moves to the city and lives the life of a perfectionist, wealthy westernized socialite—visiting her family only on occasion. While her treatment to Uma is unkind, her struggle to free herself from her roots and her family's limitations reflects in her tendency to criticize them and her ultimate decision to live a life apart from them.