Families are Constructed, Not Born
The opening scene of this multi-generation epic informs the reader that a twelve-year-old girl is about to be wedded in an arranged marriage. By the final pages of the book, the narrator asserts that families are defined by the secrets they keep rather than the blood running through their veins. The opening chapter takes place in 1900 while the final chapter is set in 1977. Over the course of those seven decades is told a story of three generations of a single family that is connected less by the organic lineage than by the construction of those secrets that bind any group of people together. The transformation of people who had never met into family units is centered upon the narrative of that young girl growing into the matriarch of an expansive family unit.
Faith
Very early in the story, faith is defined as coming to recognize a pattern exists even when it is not visible. The story takes place mostly in India, but primarily within a Christian community. Christian and Buddhist faith naturally collide but the focus on religious belief in the story is not denominational as much it is historical. Parallels are drawn between the two spiritual faiths that juxtapose them against political ideologies. This theme is also explored by suggesting that fundamental tenets of both Christianity and Buddhism are intertwined and inextricably related as a result of historical communion. Faith is suggested as a necessity to dealing with difficulties of daily existence less for any religious dogma than for the foundation of beliefs which are shared across the length and breadth of all organized religions.
Matriarchy and Patriarchy
The focus of the story is on the construction of a matriarchal central protagonist. She is introduced, as noted, at the beginning as simply a frightened little girl entered by her uncle into an arranged marriage with an older man. The story covers not just multiple generations of a single family, but also the societal evolutions taking place over those seventy years. The 20th century is presented thematically as the most revolutionary century for women in history. One short but essential bit of discourse has an older female character reminding a younger female that dreams of becoming a doctor or lawyer simply did not exist in her own youth. She then takes deserved credit for being the generation that lit the lamp capable of guiding succeeding generations down the path they chose for themselves. The focus on matriarchy is a theme underscoring the gradual but consistent collapse of the patriarchy from its position of absolute power.
