How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Even though it meant leaving my home for the home of my bridegroom's family, I was becoming very nearly happy about my wedding. There was someone who wanted me. Best of all, instead of scraps from my maa's worn saris, I was to have a sari of my own to wear. (1.31)
Like so many teens, Koly daydreams about getting married; she even pictures what her wedding sari will look like and gets excited thinking about it. But marriage isn't all about flowers and wedding cake, and Koly quickly learns that the reality isn't the stuff her dreams are made of.
Quote #2
"You have brought the dowry, sir?" Until that moment I had believed it was me the Mehta family wanted; now it seemed that what they cared for most was the dowry. (1.38)
Right away, Mr. Mehta wants to talk shop, which upsets Koly. She thought they might actually be excited to get a daughter-in-law, but no, they're really just after the money. There's a lot to make us think about marriage as an economic transaction between parents instead of a celebration of love between two people.
Quote #3
Even in such a voice, the verses touched me: "I am the words, thou the melody; I the seed, thou the bearer; the heaven I, the earth thou." (1.68)
During the wedding ceremony, Koly thinks about the words that Hari says to her. Of course, he can't know whether any of these things are true because they've never even spoken two words to each other. There's a big difference between how these words tell us marriage should be and how it actually plays out.