Summary

In Part One, Chapter 1, “Always, 1900, Travancore, South India,” when Big Ammachi is 12, her uncle arranges her marriage to an older widower. Although she does not understand why “a man of good means” would “marry a girl of little means” without a dowry, Big Ammachi has no control over her future (4). She comforts herself remembering her father’s death. She does not think marriage could be worse.

In Chapter 2, “To Have and to Hold, 1900, Travancore, South India,” Big Ammachi travels “to the groom’s church” with her mother (6). She meets her husband’s sister Thankamma. When the groom realizes she “is just a child,” he flees the church (9). Thankamma brings him back. After the ceremony, Thankamma tells Big Ammachi her husband has always preferred to walk and avoids water.

Big Ammachi is overwhelmed by her new home at Parambil. When she is a grandmother...