Summary
The final section begins with Raman going over to Daisy's house at night. They shut off the light and Daisy tells him to bring in his bicycle because she doesn't want to be responsible for it being stolen. As the days go on, they spend a great deal of time together and share many meals. Daisy starts being drowsy at work and dozing off in her chair. She becomes worried about a possible decline in her work and tries to find ways to conceal her exhaustion.
Raman steels himself to talk to his aunt about his marrying Daisy. He tells her and she becomes upset. She says that Daisy is from a different caste and is not even a proper Hindu. Raman says she is a good person and will be a good wife and that is all that should matter. They reach an impasse and the conversation ends. Raman realizes he desperately wants his aunt's approval in this matter. He goes to bed. The next day he works on a sign for his job.
His aunt informs him that she will be traveling to Benares as part of a religious pilgrimage. He is surprised to learn this. She tells him that she does not need a return ticket as she hopes to die there, as many others have. She views it as the completion of her faith journey. They discuss business matters and his aunt says a few more critical things about Daisy. Exasperated, he goes to Daisy that night and complains. She says he should just indulge his aunt's wish and that it's not such a big deal.
The next day, Raman's aunt says she needs to talk to him about several practical matters. She says that ever since his parents died she has cared for him. He tries to divert her discussion of his parents, as she has repeated the story of their deaths often and it always makes her very emotional. She says that she hopes Daisy will take up the housework. In a previous conversation, Daisy told Raman that she would not give up her work in a way for him. They decide to get married in the simplest type of ceremony, with minimal fanfare or drama.
Raman helps his aunt get ready for her journey and settles the travel arrangements. She packs a small bag and then explains the extensive preparations that go into making the household run smoothly, to Raman's concern. He was previously unaware of how much she did for the household. She says she is worried that Daisy will not pick up this slack. Three days pass and Raman becomes frightened by the overwhelming emptiness of the house. He has it cleaned and tries to prepare it for Daisy's impending move. Daisy stops by his house late one afternoon and takes note of the changes he has made to accommodate her, including locking his aunt's religious statues in the cupboard. He shows her around the house pointing out his room and work shed.
They sit together and Daisy asks him to come closer. Feeling excited and nervous, he asks her when she intends to move in with him. She says she will do so on the tenth, when the lease on her flat is up. He wants to ask her some follow-up questions but she falls asleep first. On the ninth, the day before she is scheduled to move in, Raman stops at her office to talk. He says that he was on his way to drop off a board to someone else in the building. Daisy has several visitors. She says they are from various villages where the population has skyrocketed. She says she will have to travel there to continue her campaign. He asks about her moving in with him, unsure of where this leaves them.
She says she cannot live with him now. He becomes upset with her and she tells him not to make a scene in the office. He angrily tells her he upended his life for her, seemingly all for nothing. She says it cannot be helped and that she must remain committed to her cause. The women return and Daisy gets ready to leave. As she makes her way down the stairs, he clutches her by the shoulders and says he will never love anyone but her and that his home will always remain open to her. She seems upset, but resolved to leave. Raman watches as she drives away. He throws the key he was about to give her into a nearby fountain. He gets on his bicycle and heads back to the Boardless Hotel, ready to resume his old life.
Analysis
Tradition is a major theme in the book's conclusion. Raman's aunt expresses concern and anxiety over his marriage to Daisy. She is upset about multiple things. She worries about Daisy being from a different caste, her not being a Hindu, and her not meeting the expectations of a housewife. Raman says she is thinking about all of the wrong things and not focusing on whether or not Daisy will actually be a good partner or not. His aunt's comments indicate how firmly ingrained a number of traditional judgments are in the context of marriage and how social status and religion are essential components of how marriage is viewed by the public. In this interaction, the novel highlights how far-reaching the consequences of tradition are in the lives of the characters, as the strength of the actual relationship between two people is treated as being of less importance than its conformity to social expectations.
Obligation is another important theme in this section. Raman's aunt reveals to him all of the work that goes into keeping the house clean and his meals served. She informs him of all of this in the hope that Daisy will now take on her many responsibilities and make sure Raman remains cared for. This moment is key in that it shows all of the invisible labor his aunt has been performing for an extended period of time and how little thanks she has received for it all the while. It is also notable because his aunt takes on the obligation of this housework and Daisy is ultimately unwilling to do so, as she fears it will limit her capacity for activism and advocacy. Raman's ignorance about these matters shows how little he perceives his aunt's work and how blissfully unaware he has been of her sacrifices. Narayan shows the difficulties of obligation and its lasting impact on the lives of women, as they are asked to bear the brunt of these tasks while their husbands remain ignorant and satisfied.
Love is also an important theme in these pages. Daisy ultimately breaks things off with Raman, saying she has to remain committed to her work. This breaks Raman's heart as he is so in love with her. She still has strong feelings for Raman but becomes increasingly concerned that their relationship would hinge on her caring for him and being limited by his demands. She is unable to move in with him because she does not want to give up her work and travel. Narayan reveals how a relationship cannot be sustained on romantic love alone, but needs an agreed-upon division of labor and time in order to work. Raman and Daisy's relationship ultimately flounders because they do not have a shared idea of what it should look like or how it should function.
Quality work is a central theme in the book's final pages. Daisy ultimately chooses her work over sharing a life with Raman. She says that her advocacy for family planning is too important to give up and would be limited by married life. Raman is devastated by this revelation and feels frustrated that she won't just put aside everything for her. He fails to recognize that she, like him, values her work highly and wants to put her whole self into it. She doesn't want to be limited in her capacity to travel and campaign for family planning. In her unwavering dedication to her career, Daisy, not Raman, is the best embodiment of doing work of real quality.
Raman's concluding scene is a return to stasis. Having lost Daisy, he turns back to the Boardless Hotel, feeling that he wants to go back to the things that he knows. He does not consider what he potentially did wrong or how he could have accommodated Daisy better. In somewhat comedic fashion, he remains unchanged. He treats the love affair as a passing phase, something he did everything he could to make work and had to give up. It is an essentially circular ending, as he begins doing many of the same things he did at the start.
