Anita stayed in the doorway. I wondered whether she remembered. How could she remember after decades of silence?
-- Ram (chapter 1)

Importance: As Ram inappropriately touches his granddaughter, Anita enters his bedroom and dismisses Asha. Ram is unsure if Anita has seen his actions. He wonders vaguely “whether she remembered… after decades of silence.” Here, Ram’s self-delusion becomes obvious. He believes that the “silence” and suppression of the previous decades has somehow healed the wounds that he inflicted on Anita. These thoughts emphasize Ram’s unwillingness to grapple directly with the ramifications of his rape of his daughter.

This self-awareness made me feel for the first time that Pitaji need not have raped me. I had been raped because for Pitaji no one was as real as he was, so nothing he did to others had substance.
-- Anita (chapter 2)

Importance: With Ram in the hospital, Anita at last feels permission to hate her father. After he...