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Part 2, Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fire on the Mountain, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Nature of Freedom
Honesty and Self-Reflection
Trauma and Suffering
Class and Privilege
Female Oppression
Summary
Analysis
Nanda Kaul writes a letter to Asha reporting Raka’s safe arrival. In it, she admits none of her resentment or curiosity about the girl, who refuses to say where she goes or what she does during the day. She simply disappears or reappears—covered in dust and scratches—as the mood strikes her. Intensely curious, Nanda Kaul feels just as annoyed by Raka’s absence as her presence. She resents the girl’s instinctive reclusion, especially since it comes to her naturally while Nanda Kaul had to practice and sacrifice her own way to solitude.
Not only does Nanda Kaul refuse to share her thoughts with others, but barely seems willing to admit them to herself. But Nanda Kaul does have intense feelings toward Raka—negative ones—that come not just from her resentment at being forced back into a maternal, caregiving role, but at her growing realization that Raka has the kind of freedom Nanda Kaul thought she herself had.
Themes
