Meena was now free to develop on her own, to acquire wealth through her own strategies of lending money on interest, money and gold being two useful commodities in that society. She also profited from her husband’s pension which was now wholly hers to put away safely to accrue interest. She had the respect of the community without the embarrassment of a husband who ‘indulged’ himself, who was never strong enough to release himself from the guilt of his bondage, drink—that powerful, all-consuming passion—draining him of his manhood. Meena had a delicate, rather helpless air that appealed to those who felt protective about her. She also saw herself as the mother figure in young families, young families with young children who felt a certain emotional security in her presence. She, too, was a teacher, a teacher of English. That was a greatly respected profession, to be valued in a small provincial society where parents wanted their children to improve their English, conversational style, manners and cultivate social skills. And now if Sulo made a favourable marriage her mother’s gentle sighs would cease. She would be proud to say, ‘You know, Sulo is now so comfortably off—her husband lives abroad and draws a big salary. She will have nothing to worry about now. Her husband looks after her very well. He does everything for her. He even cooks for her. She has an easy time. I’ll be flying there one of these days for the confinement. She wants me to come. How can she, poor thing, do everything by herself ….’ Yes, she was waiting to utter those words. Soon, soon, the event must take place, that negotiatory settlement called marriage. To settle down. To be settled. To find someone to settle down with. As if the effervescence of youth must subside, grow quiescent, and bubbling youth must dispose of its iridescent bubbles and shining froth into some murky, opaque substance in which the mirror-reflection of the face drowns and vanishes.

Sulo, too, had a responsibility towards her mother. It was unacceptable in that society to have a spinster daughter. What would all the friends and relations say? So valuable a commodity as a well-brought up daughter was certainly an asset. Meena had every intention of living with her daughter to the very end. She was tired of living in a boarding house. She had sold her land in the Eastern Province, and with the political turmoil in those regions, could not dream of returning there. How long could two women share one bedroom? Share one life? Meena needed the stability of her daughter’s marriage. In a culture such as theirs, marriage was coercively justifiable; love and romance secondary.