Hari Mehta

Character Analysis

Hari is what we'd call a one-dimensional character. He's not really complicated in the way that some of the other characters are in the book, and most of the time, he's bossy, immature, and selfish. Despite Koly being scammed into marrying his sick and dying butt, Hari readily tells Koly what to do. For instance, at one point he tells her:

"You must tell me more stories about your village and the people who live there. You must obey me." (2.46)

Say what? Koly realizes that Hari's been spoiled because he's the only son in the family as well as terminally ill. We see Hari's death coming from a mile away, and his main purpose in the book is really just to get Koly married and widowed in the story, setting the rest of the plot in motion.