How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
[Baby Kochamma] subscribed wholeheartedly to the commonly held view that a married daughter had no position in her parents' home. As for a divorced daughter – according to Baby Kochamma, she had no position anywhere at all. And as for a divorced daughter from a love marriage, well, words could not describe Baby Kochamma's outrage. As for a divorced daughter from an intercommunity love marriage – Baby Kochamma chose to remain quiveringly silent on the subject. (2.56)
It seems that Baby Kochamma lives to put others down. One of the easiest ways to do this is to point out other people's violations of societal rules. Here, she finds not one, not two, but three societal standards that Ammu breaks, giving her ample reason to look down on her.
Quote #5
There would be two flasks of water. Boiled water for Margaret Kochamma and Sophie Mol, tap water for everybody else. (2.59)
Even in the most minor details, like the drinking water the family brings to the airport, we see how everyone defers to Sophie Mol and Margaret Kochamma. What's good enough for the rest of the family is not good enough for the two of them. On the flip side, it seems that Estha and Rahel aren't good enough to have "special" boiled water, either. (Although, to be fair, the two visitors aren't accustomed to the unpurified Indian water, which would probably make them sick.)
Quote #6
Chacko told the twins that, though he hated to admit it, they were all Anglophiles. They were a family of Anglophiles. Pointed in the wrong direction, trapped outside their own history and unable to retrace their steps because their footprints had been swept away. (2.90)
The concept of "Anglophilia" is a big one in this book, from the way everyone fawns over Sophie Mol, to Chacko's cocky attitude about his Oxford degree, to the whole family's obsession with The Sound of Music. But it's pretty clear that the thing they love also holds them down. When Chacko says their footprints have been swept away, he is making a reference to the way members of the Untouchable caste have to sweep away their footprints so that people of higher classes don't "pollute" themselves by walking in them. Even though by Indian standards their family is of a relatively high social status, they are of a low social status in relation to the British.