Uma
The narrator describes Uma: "her grey hair frazzled, her myopic eyes glaring behind her spectacles, muttering under her breath" (5). Desai's word choices are aptly chosen. "Frazzled" suggests that Uma does not have it fully together, that her parents easily fluster her. "Myopic" suggests that she has literal eyesight problems but also that she might not "see" other things for what they are. "Glaring" suggests she is emotional and easily provoked. "Muttering" suggests a degree of petulance and passive-aggressiveness. This image, established so early in the text, is remarkably consistent throughout the novel.
Mother Agnes' Office
Mother Agnes is the principal of Uma's school. Her office is described thusly: "at the picture on the wall of a golden haired Jesus holding a lamb, the tinted print over the mantelpiece of the tear-stained face of a child gazing up at a corner of the gilt frame" (19). This classic Catholic image is supposed to inspire devotion and obedience, but for Indians like Mama, it is foreign and smacks of colonialism and brainwashing. Uma, who initially liked everything about the convent school, comes to feel betrayed by Mother Agnes and this image of Jesus; she would find no support or succor from them.
Mira-masi
Mira-masi may be in mourning, but she is not idle. She travels the pilgrimage routes and performs her rituals to honor Lord Shiva, and as time goes on she becomes increasingly serious about it all: "she seemed to storm through the country, stomping along pilgrim routes, her back bowed, a staff in her hands, her large feet plodding grimly and determinedly the worn earth of those paths" (54). This image of a tenacious older woman set on doing what she needs to do is in contrast to Uma, who has no such freedom to live the life she wants.
Mrs. Joshi's Mother-in-law
Desai uses a vivid image to describe Mrs. Joshi's mother-in-law: "an evil empress of ancient history, able to shrivel the entire garden with her touch, turn sherbet into tepid water, children's games to punishment" (129). We see the woman looming larger than life, possessing evil powers, ruining all that is innocent and pleasurable. This powerful image asserts just how problematic mothers-in-law can be in Indian society, in which they are part of the new bride's household; Anamika suffers from a similar situation, though with a worse ending.
