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Mr. Patton
Melanie is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patton, and the sister of Rod. Struggling with bulimia and anorexia that go unnoticed by her parents, Melanie is frequently bitter, angry, and difficult to talk to. Arun becomes preoccupied with Melanie's bad nutrition and defensive attitude, seeing a similarity between her bitterness and that of his own neglected sister, Uma. Melanie's eating disorder isn't treated until her mother and Arun catch her nearly unconscious, writhing in the forest.
Melanie Quotes in Fasting, Feasting
The Fasting, Feasting quotes below are all either spoken by Melanie or refer to Melanie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 22 Quotes
We don’t sit down to meals like we used to. Everyone eats at different times and wants different meals. We just don’t get to eating together much now that they’re grown. So I just fill the freezer and let them take down what they like, when they like. Keeping the freezer full—that’s my job, Ahroon.
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Chapter 23 Quotes
Mr. Patton ignores her. He is getting a can of beer out of the refrigerator. Opening it with a shark jerk of his thumb, he demands, ‘Where are the kids? Are they going to be in for dinner tonight? What have they been doing all day? Are they doing any work around here?’
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Chapter 24 Quotes
Why don’t you ask me what I want? Why can’t you make me what I want? What do you think we all are—garbage bags you keep stuffing and stuffing?
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Chapter 26 Quotes
They are not the stuff of dreams or even cinema: he is not the hero, nor she the heroine, and what she is crying for, he cannot tell (…) this is a real pain and a real hunger. But what hunger does a person so sated feel?
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Melanie Character Timeline in Fasting, Feasting
The timeline below shows where the character Melanie appears in Fasting, Feasting. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 15
...steaks on a barbecue. He calls the family to eat, and Arun goes looking for Melanie, the Patton’s teenaged daughter, who sits sulkily at the bottom of the stairs, eating a...
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Chapter 20
...is on his way to his room, when he looks into the den to find Melanie sitting on the sofa, watching TV—commercials, dramatically and enthusiastically advertising everything from car insurance to...
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Chapter 21
...how to cook, he begins to mix together all the Indian-aisle ingredients Mrs. Patton bought. Melanie comes in and says that the food looks gross, and Arun agrees. He eats it...
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Chapter 22
...want when they want it. Arun thinks of telling Mrs. Patton about his concerns about Melanie’s eating habits, but he is afraid to show too much interest in her. Mrs. Patton...
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Chapter 23
...“Doing work,” and when Mrs. Patton says that Rod is working out, he responds, “And Melanie...What’s she in training for, Huh?” He is angry that Rod works out all day, but...
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That night, Melanie is in the bathtub, water running, with her cassette player. Arun is waiting outside because...
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Chapter 24
It is August. Arun comes into the kitchen in the morning, to find Melanie sitting sullenly at the kitchen table while Mrs. Patton scrambles eggs. Mrs. Patton tells Melanie...
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...cart. Arun feels sickened by the excess, and he wonders if that is what bothers Melanie. He tries to put back a tub of ice cream, but Mrs. Patton playfully tells...
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Chapter 25
...scandalized. Avoiding her invitations to sunbathe with him, Arun runs into the house, to find Melanie at the kitchen table, scarfing down the tub of ice cream that her mother had...
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Chapter 26
On an uncomfortably hot Saturday, Mrs. Patton persuades Arun into coming with her and Melanie to cool off at the swimming pond in the woods near their home. When they...
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When Arun emerges from the water, he finds that Melanie is nowhere to be seen, a pile of candy wrappers left in her absence. He...
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Chapter 27
...empty for the summer, and Arun enjoys the return to normalcy. At the Patton’s house, Melanie has left to receive treatment at a temporary recovery home in the Berkshires, for teen...
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