Chapter 79: Please — A Plea for Healing

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Amma's condition takes a sharp turn for the worse. She develops a high fever and a severe cough that leaves her unable to breathe on her own. The hospital staff moves her to the Intensive Care Unit on another floor and places her on a breathing machine. The diagnosis is pneumonia—a far more serious illness than the one Reha experienced earlier.

When Dr. Andrews speaks with Daddy, her face sags, signaling grim news. Reha sinks into a chair, pulls her legs up, and hugs them like a little kid. She closes her eyes and thinks of Savitri, the mythological figure who tried to save her beloved through courage, cleverness, and virtue. Reha silently pleads: if she is virtuous and follows all the rules, perhaps Amma will be saved.

Overwhelmed by the hospital's smell, the dry dead air, the sound of the breathing machine, and the feel of her own skin, Reha rushes to a bathroom and splashes cold water on her face. She barely recognizes herself in the mirror. From that moment on, she repeats the same plea every morning, as she lights the lamps, and into her pillow at night: Please let me be virtuous enough.

Key Events

• Amma spikes a fever and develops a severe cough, leading to breathing difficulties.

• She is moved to the Intensive Care Unit and placed on a breathing machine.

• Doctors diagnose pneumonia, which is more serious than Reha's earlier illness.

• Dr. Andrews's expression conveys bad news to Daddy.

• Reha retreats into a chair, recalling the Savitri myth and praying for virtue.

• She becomes overwhelmed by the hospital environment and rushes to a bathroom, where she fails to recognize her reflection.

• Reha begins a daily ritual of pleading for virtue in the morning, at lamp-lighting, and at night.

Character Development

This chapter reveals Reha's deep-seated belief that her own goodness can influence fate. Her reaction to Amma's crisis is not anger or denial but a desperate attempt to bargain through virtue. She clings to the Savitri story as a model of how courage and moral purity might overcome death. This shows her childlike vulnerability—she pulls her legs up like a little kid—and her internalization of rules as a form of control. The moment in the bathroom, where she barely recognizes herself, signals a fracture in her identity: the crisis is so overwhelming that she feels disconnected from her own reflection. Her repeated plea, whispered at different times of day, becomes a ritual of hope and fear, underscoring her growing maturity as she confronts the possibility of losing her mother.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

• Virtue as bargaining chip: Reha believes that being virtuous and following rules can earn Amma's recovery. This reflects a child's moral logic and the theme of sacrifice.

• The Savitri myth: Savitri's story symbolizes the power of love and determination against death. Reha invokes it as a source of courage, but also as a template for her own plea.

• The breathing machine: Represents the mechanical intrusion of medicine and the fragility of life. Its sound becomes a source of dread.

• The mirror: Reha's failure to recognize herself suggests a loss of identity and the overwhelming nature of grief.

• Lighting lamps: A motif of hope and ritual, now infused with desperation as Reha attaches her plea to this daily act.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter escalates the central conflict of the novel: Amma's illness becomes life-threatening, moving from a manageable sickness to a critical condition requiring intensive care. It deepens Reha's emotional arc by showing her coping mechanism—prayer and self-blame—which will likely evolve as the story progresses. The chapter also introduces the theme of virtue as a form of agency, which may be challenged later. The mirror scene foreshadows Reha's internal struggle with her identity as an Indian-American girl caught between cultures and now between hope and despair. This is a pivotal moment that raises the stakes and sets up the emotional climax of the book.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Reha think about the Savitri myth in this moment?

Reha recalls Savitri because the myth involves a woman who uses courage, cleverness, and virtue to save her beloved from death. Reha hopes that by being virtuous and following rules, she can similarly influence Amma's fate. The myth gives her a framework for action when she feels powerless.

2. What does Reha's reaction in the bathroom reveal about her emotional state?

Reha's rush to the bathroom and her inability to recognize herself in the mirror show that the crisis has overwhelmed her sense of self. The hospital's sensory assault—smell, sound, touch—makes her feel alienated from her own body and identity. This moment signals a psychological breaking point.

**3. How does the repetition of the word