How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Title.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I pretend I do not hear him joining in the laughter when the men at the tea shop joke about the difference between fathering a son and marrying off a daughter.
A son will always be a son, they say. But a girl is like a goat. Good as long as she gives you milk and butter. But not worth crying over when it's time to make a stew. (5.TheDifferenceBetween.4-5)
The men are clearly comfortable enough about their power in society to make jokes about the value of women. And look at what comparisons the men in the teashop are making: a son is a son, but a girl is a goat—just an animal whose sole purpose is to provide others with what is actually and rightfully hers. Early in the novel, McCormick makes it crystal clear which gender is given power and which one isn't.
Quote #2
"We are in India now," Uncle Husband has told me. "Don't speak to anyone here. If they hear you talk, they will know you're from the mountains and they will try to take advantage of you." (57.Train.6)
It becomes clear to us that one of the ways that the people who populate the brothels with young girls obtain power over them is by removing the girls from everything that is familiar. The unfamiliar—the other—can be very scary and can make anyone feel powerless.
Quote #3
I go weak with gratitude.
Uncle Husband isn't young and handsome like Krishna, and I can never tell when he might grow angry and slap me. But I am grateful, in this strange new world of moving thunder and invisible borders, that he is my Uncle Husband. (58.OneHundredRotis.8)
One way Uncle Husband retains his power over Lakshmi (and her compliance in traveling) is by being both kind and harsh. Do you think this technique is almost worse than Mumtaz's preference for straight up fear and violence?