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Part 3, Chapter 5
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 rises from the table, drawing on all the training and preparation of her life to take control of herself and of the situation. She sends Raka to fetch Ram Lal so that he can clear away the tea things, and while she is gone, Nanda Kaul puts the past away and asks Ila Das about her current situation. It is not pretty, as Nanda Kaul already knows.
Like Nanda Kaul, Ila Das was born into a privileged family, but her brothers squandered their family’s fortune. She and her sister Rima had to support themselves and their ill mother. Rima taught piano, and Nanda Kaul asked the Vice-Chancellor to create a position for Ila Das. That gave Ila Das stability, but she ultimately resigned in protest over being denied a promotion. Nanda Kaul supported this decision, but it was costly. Middle aged and with few qualifications, Ila Das nearly starved looking for another job. Once again, Nanda Kaul rescued her, directing her toward a social service course that led to a job as a government welfare worker. That job brought her to Kasauli. It’s clear that Ila Das needs Nanda Kaul’s help again. But Nanda Kaul has retired from helping people.
The book’s earlier examples of the limitations placed on females focused on marriages—the high expectations the Vice-Chancellor had and the suggestion that he cheated on Nanda Kaul, the way Tara’s husband both cheats on and abuses her—but Ila Das’s sad story shows that harm can arise from other sources when women are made beholden to the choices and actions of men. Her brothers make the bad choices, and she and her sister suffer the worst consequences. Now, Nanda Kaul refuses to help her because she thinks that relaxing her isolation will cost her her freedom.
Themes
