Summary
Two weeks pass after Raman leaves the sign for Daisy. Raman is abruptly woken up in the morning. His aunt comes into his room and tells him he has a visitor. To his dismayed surprise, it is Daisy. He gets dressed and washed up, hoping to look presentable. Daisy informs him that she is about to undertake a tour of several villages all over India as part of her family-planning campaign. The trip will take three weeks and she says she needs someone to paint signs for her. She asks if he is interested in joining her. He says yes.
They travel together for three weeks. In this time, Raman learns that Daisy has many different sides. When she is speaking about sex education and family planning, she is very fiery and intense. However, when she talks about her personal life, she is capable of being very funny and warm. Raman's feelings for her increase as he gets to know her better. He also admires the way in which she lives simply, refusing many small comforts, like a soft bed or costly meals. She tells him she does not want to live better than the majority of the population in their country. He also notices that she is particularly relaxed and cheerful after they have completed a visit to a village. He becomes determined to marry her.
They visit one village and meet a man who has had twelve children. Daisy tells Raman that that many births are terrible for a woman's body. Around the same time, he becomes concerned about his work. He has some unfinished projects at home and feels that he is being rushed during the course of this campaign. He thinks that the quality of his work has suffered as a result of this trip and that love is harming his craft. One evening, Raman and Daisy walk up a hill. Raman daydreams and loses track of Daisy, who walks far ahead of him.
On this hill, they encounter a teacher who gets into an argument with Daisy. Daisy says that their resources are dwindling because the families in the village are expanding too rapidly. The teacher disagrees. Raman becomes tired from having to listen to this disagreement. He takes notice of the way that Daisy never seems to run out of energy. Immediately after this encounter, she says they must get all their work done before the monsoons strike. Raman is disappointed. She continues to argue with the teacher. He claims that a larger population increases productivity. She says that a larger population is just a drain on resources. The argument goes on in the same contentious manner.
The next day, they are stopped by a local priest from a nearby temple. He claims to be able to make barren women fertile again. Daisy doesn't believe his claim and they argue about family planning. Just as she is about to leave he says that he knows she ran away from home as a child. She appears disturbed that he knows this. Raman returns to ask the man more questions about Daisy but the priest refuses to say more on the subject. Daisy and Raman prepare to leave the village and return to Malgudi.
A man with an ox-drawn cart takes them home. His ox suffers an injury and he is forced to stop the cart. He goes off to try and find medical assistance, leaving Raman and Daisy alone. They both feel somewhat awkward finally being completely alone together. Their conversation peters out and they decide to go to sleep. Raman tries to hold Daisy while she is lying down but she pushes him away. Later in the night, he finds that she has disappeared completely. He is alarmed but feels too tired to stay awake and locate her.
The next morning the cartman returns and they resume their journey. Daisy reappears as well and tells Raman that she slept in a tree, claiming that she saw a tiger. She gets quiet and he jokingly compares her to Queen Victoria, offending her. The cartman mistakes them for a married couple and says quarrels often arise. Daisy says sharply that they are not married but Raman contradicts her, saying that they are married. This makes her furious and she threatens to report him to the police for misconduct. This prospect terrifies Raman. They return to Malgudi and Daisy departs for her house immediately.
Analysis
Love is a major theme in this part of the book, as Raman feels helpless to oppose Daisy. His feelings for her occupy his every thought and prevent him from reading or working efficiently. While he comes to love Daisy more and more, he also recognizes how much space she has suddenly started to take up in his life. To make matters worse, he feels uncertain about her feelings for him and is unsure if she even really enjoys his company. Her abrupt shifts in demeanor make it hard for him to parse out how she is feeling at any given moment. In his portrayal of Raman's gradually increasing feelings, Narayan captures how love can cause agony, making someone like Raman completely vulnerable to being totally consumed. He shows its downsides and drawbacks effectively, highlighting the destabilizing effects desire and love can have.
Sexism is another important theme in this section of the novel. Daisy feels passionately about sex education because she thinks that women are often conscripted into the role of mother and housewife without their consent. Their time and bodily autonomy are suddenly eaten up by the demands of having a family and maintaining a home. Daisy argues that this is harmful to many women, as they work constantly, repeatedly suffer the ordeal of birth, and are forced into a life dominated by household obligations. Her comments on this subject indicate how widespread this sexism is in the world of the novel and how far-reaching its impact is on the daily lives of women across her country. While Raman seems a little wary of her intense views, the reader quickly comes to see the dramatic stakes of this issue.
Provincial life is also a major theme in these pages. Narayan compellingly illustrates the differences between life in a bustling city like Malgudi and the slower pace in the villages that Daisy and Raman visit. He shows how the inhabitants of small villages rely more on figures like the priest and carry a stronger sense of superstition as a result. The more localized perspective of these villagers, as framed by the story, is shaped by a limited flow of information. Daisy goes out to these places because she knows they are unlikely to get the same resources as the cities. Narayan also effectively renders the characters from the village as real people and not just objects of mockery. While Daisy may disagree with their stances on sex education and family planning, she does not think they are completely ignorant or beyond help. The cartman, priest, and teacher may irritate her, but she still manages to see them with empathy.
Quality work is a central theme here as well. Raman becomes acutely aware of his craft beginning to slip. Daisy has asked him to churn out a number of signs and as a result, he is forced to do a rushed job. This concerns him, as he feels torn between his two loves: Daisy and his sign painting. He sees that they have come directly into conflict with one another. This is an important moment in the story, as Raman is forced to reckon with this divide and figure out what truly matters to him. Narayan draws attention to this to show the potential pitfalls of a great love.
In this middle section, the reader watches Raman fall deeper in love with Daisy as he gets to know her somewhat better. It also shows the true conviction and passion that informs her drive about her family-planning campaign. The journey is a mixed bag for Raman, as it allows him to get closer to Daisy but also starts to wear away his ability to hone his craft. Where Daisy has a single-minded focus, his attention becomes diverted by the potential of a relationship with her. This divide ultimately has more significant consequences down the line, as her work truly is the most important thing to her.
