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Part 3, Chapter 1
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
The scene with the schoolboys is so typical of Ila Das’s life that Nanda Kaul imagines a similar crowd surrounding the infant Ila Das’s pram. Nanda Kaul and Ila Das grew up together, Ila Das’s “anti-social” voice a consistent theme in Nanda Kaul’s early memories. When they were schoolgirls, the other children called Ila Das “Parrot,” and teachers avoided calling on her. Even Ila Das’s parents had disliked her voice, and they gave her piano lessons in an attempt to keep her quiet. Instead, she insisted on singing, too, her voice “like a tom-cat’s in battle.” Now, as she arrives for tea, Nanda Kaul reflects on how little Ila Das has changed from that little girl. And Ila throws herself into Nanda Kaul’s arms with evident delight over the reunion.
Ila Das hasn’t had an easy life, and the book cultivates readers’ sympathy for her in part by showing the cruelty of Nanda Kaul’s judgement. Nanda Kaul’s ruminations suggest that Ila got stuck at some point in her development. It’s worth asking why Nanda Kaul thinks of Ila Das this way: is it her excessive emotionality, her small size, her unkept appearance, or some other thing that characterizes an adult woman in Nanda Kaul’s mind? Readers should pay attention to this question as Ila Das’s story comes to light.
Themes
