Cooking for Female Submission
Cooking is implied as a woman's job, particularly in cooking for her husband and with proficiency. The men in the stories hardly cook and who cook are considered to be caring. The women slave over several hours cooking for their husbands. Her culinary skills along with the cleanliness she maintains in her kitchen is a mark of her devotion to her family. It's less of an act associated with feeding one than an act of reverence to one's family.
Asha stops cooking after her divorce as she feels her duty to cook was limited to her husbad. It's an act that she associates with her husband and the act pains her so much that she stops cooking altogether.
Clothes For One's Character
A person's character is judged on the basis of his clothes. Women are expected to be in their traditional attire even in foreign countries and those who wear western clothes are frowned upon. In the story Clothes, Sumita loves to wear western clothes but has to do so in privacy of her room as wearing such clothes in public would bring shame to her family. A hint of skin is also deemed unchaste. This judgement is, however, limited to women only as men are allowed to wear what they like.
Doors for Privacy
Doors in the story Doors stand for privacy. Preeti who has been raised in a family where privacy is respected has a great regard for it and is uncompromising about her privacy. Deepak who has been raised with no real privacy tries to work around her obsession but turns inconsiderate in company of Raj. She grows weary with no respect to her privacy. Her work is affected and she has a breakdown. As they spend their first night apart, Preeti feels a set of doors closing inside her as if she was shutting herself to Deepak whom she thought understood her. She has come to the realization that he doesn't understand her need for space or privacy.
Motherhood for Power
Pregnancy, as a physical condition, has been depicted with helplessness, while motherhood is depicted with a power. Meera, from A Perfect Life, hates babies and feels that pregnancy leaves a woman helpless and distracts her from her own identity. But, after living with Krishna as a mother she gets to know the power motherhood instills in a woman as well as the pain it can bring. Anju from The Ultrasound narrates painful and swollen feet several times in the story. Her friend Runu is considered helpless when she is forced to have an abortion, as she can't fight with her in-laws. But, a prospect to lose her unborn child has Runu run with her jewelry. Anju also decides to use her baby as leverage to convince her husband to help Runu.
Jewelry for Opulence
Jewelry is considered as an essential accessory for married Indian women. A major portion of her dowry comes as jewelry. The elaborate pieces are worn on special occasions while there are simpler pieces for a normal day. In the story, the women wear jewelry not just as a sign of their marital status but also as a status symbol. When Jayanti observes her aunt Pratima wearing plain slim pieces, she's surprised as her aunt is supposed to be a rich woman. Wives, fed up of their husbands, often leave with their wedding jewelry not just for its monetary value but also, as they consider it the only thing that their husbands can't claim.
