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Chapter 9
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Vendor of Sweets, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Communication vs. Fear
Generational Difference
Commerce, Taste, and the Good Life
Religion
India vs. the U.K. and the U.S.
Summary
Analysis
Jagan wants to talk to Grace, but though he hears her moving about the house, she hasn’t come into his section of the house for 10 days. He wonders whether she was only kind to him while she thought he might invest in the story-writing machines, and he feels as though an impenetrable wall has arisen between him on the one hand and Grace and Mali on the other.
Jagan’s inaction here shows both how his fears prevent him from communicating effectively and how the story-writing machines symbolize failures of communication between Jagan and the younger generation.
Active
Themes
At the sweets shop, when Jagan asks the cousin whether he has run into Mali lately, the cousin says he ran into Mali at an acquaintance’s house. Mali told the cousin that Grace would be returning to America on a business trip. The cousin praises the gumption of modern women, traveling alone for business—and Jagan, keeping quiet about the real nature of Grace’s trip, asks the cousin to distract Mali so that he can talk to Grace alone. The cousin goes along with the plan, though he’s aware Jagan isn’t telling him something.
Once again, Jagan uses the cousin as a go-between or buffer in his communications with Mali and Grace. This time, however, Jagan is at least planning to talk to Grace. His resolve to discuss problems with Grace directly shows how important he believes her marriage to Mali is and how undesirable her leaving would be.
Active
Themes
Two days later, while Mali is showing the cousin the land where he plans to build the factory for his business, Jagan goes into the puja room and prays for guidance. Then he goes and knocks on Grace’s door. While he waits, he remembers how decisive he used to be—for example, when as a young man he climbed the bungalow of the British Collector to replace the Union Jack with the Indian flag. He moved so fast the nearby police couldn’t stop him—though afterwards they beat him unconscious and put him in jail. Jagan thinks that he still has his Satyagrahi training but that it’s receded into the background of his personality somehow.
Active
Themes
Grace opens her door, greets Jagan, and invites him in. After Jagan makes some introductory comments, he tells himself not to dither and “lose [his] daughter” Grace as he feels he’s nearly lost Mali. He asks why he doesn’t see her around the house anymore. When she blushes and stays silent, he tells her not to answer and asks instead whether she wants to return to America. A crow caws outside, and rather than answering Jagan, Grace goes to feed it. Jagan suddenly intuits that Grace is fragile and might break down if he interrogates her. Feeling afraid of her, he announces he must return to the shop.
Active
Themes
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Grace, walking Jagan out, says that “Mo”—Mali—wants her to return to America. Jagan, shocked, asks why. Grace explains that Mali says he can’t pay for her to stay in India anymore; she has used up the $2,000 she came with, and Mali has “no more use” for her. Jagan says that he cared for his wife whether or not he had “use” for her and that according to the puranas, wives and husbands should stay together.
Grace admits that she and Mali aren’t married, though Mali promised to marry her according to Indian cultural traditions when he brought her. Jagan asks whether the marriage took place after they arrived, and Grace says Jagan would know if it had. Jagan exclaims in shock. Grace asks Jagan to stay and hear her explain—but Jagan, thinking Grace is sinful though seemingly virtuous, says he can’t stay.
Active
Themes
When the cousin enters the shop, Jagan tells him that Mali isn’t married. The cousin asks whether Jagan talked with Grace, and Jagan repeats that she and Mali aren’t married. The cousin suggests that she should be allowed to return to America, then, and adds that the younger generation lives “in a different world”—so elders shouldn’t be outraged by their behavior. Jagan retorts that even his infamously depraved great-uncle never lied about being married when he wasn’t and—thinking about all the sin that may have occurred under his roof—says that his “home is tainted.”
The cousin suggests that Jagan ask Mali’s “side of the story.” Jagan points out that Mali told him he wanted Grace to return to America. When the cousin claims that this is because Mali is occupied with his business, Jagan exclaims, “What business!” The cousin suggests that Grace and Mali’s relationship is “their business” and that Jagan should take the Gita’s teachings on detachment seriously. Jagan bemoans that he is always seeking detachment but never finds it.
Active
Themes
Jagan asks the cousin how he can continue living in his house. The cousin suggests he use the back entrance to avoid Grace and Mali; Jagan agrees and asks the cousin not to tell anyone about the situation. The cousin swears. When Jagan asks what he should do about Grace and Mali, the cousin suggests he can get them a fast marriage. Jagan expresses effusive gratitude.
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Themes
