Nectar in a Sieve
Encyclopedia
Nectar in a Sieve is a novel by Kamala Markandaya.
Rukmani and Nathan love each other and their marriage begins in relative peace and plenty; however, a large tannery is built in the neighboring village and begins insidiously destroying their lives. As the tannery grows larger and more prosperous, Rukmani and Nathan struggle to feed their children and to pay the rent on the land that gives them life. Although matters continue to worsen, they quietly resign themselves to ever-increasing hardships—flood, famine, even death—and cling to their hopes for a better future.
Dr. Kennington, or "Kenny", an itinerant English doctor, is an important presence in the novel. Although Rukmani's fatalistic attitude toward hardship exasperates him, he feels compassion for her and helps her when he can. At the end, Rukmani goes to live with her youngest son, now a doctor at the hospital Kenny has built.
Meanwhile, a tannery is built in the village and begins to take over the land. The system of trading, and the quiet way of life for the people who live there is quickly disrupted. Rukmani seems to be the only one who recognizes this as a danger, and stands alone in her protest against modernization. Irawaddy is married off to a well-placed young man; then Rukmani's two eldest sons leave her to go work at a tea plantation in faraway Ceylon. After several years Irawaddy, divorced by her husband because she is barren, returns home.
The family endure a time of drought and famine, and Rukmani's third son, weak with hunger, is beaten to death while trying to steal a calfskin from the tannery. Her youngest son Kuti begins to starve. Irawaddy is forced to turn to prostitution so she can provide food for her baby brother. Despite the extra food, Kuti dies. Irawaddy becomes pregnant from the prostitution and gives birth to an albino boy.
Eventually, the tannery officials buy the land Nathan has been farming for thirty years and evict him. With nowhere else to go, the couple travel by oxcart and on foot to a city, hoping to move in with one of their sons. The son, however, has gone no-one knows where. Completely destitute, they work as stonebreakers at a quarry in hopes of earning enough money to get home. There Nathan dies. Afterward, Rukmani returns to her home village accompanied by a resourceful street boy named Puli, who has lost his fingers to leprosy. She moves in with her daughter and her youngest son, who is now a doctor at the hospital Kenny has built.
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"Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve,
And hope without an object cannot live."
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1825, Work Without Hope
Rukmani comments, "Change I had known before, and it had been gradual. But the change that now came into my life, into all our lives, blasting its way into our village, seemed wrought in the twinkling of an eye."
Plot introduction
Nectar in a Sieve, set in India during a period of intense urban development, is a fictional history of a marriage between Rukmani, youngest daughter of a village headman, and Nathan, a tenant farmer. Rukmani tells the story in the first person, from her arranged marriage to Nathan at age twelve to his death many years later.Rukmani and Nathan love each other and their marriage begins in relative peace and plenty; however, a large tannery is built in the neighboring village and begins insidiously destroying their lives. As the tannery grows larger and more prosperous, Rukmani and Nathan struggle to feed their children and to pay the rent on the land that gives them life. Although matters continue to worsen, they quietly resign themselves to ever-increasing hardships—flood, famine, even death—and cling to their hopes for a better future.
Dr. Kennington, or "Kenny", an itinerant English doctor, is an important presence in the novel. Although Rukmani's fatalistic attitude toward hardship exasperates him, he feels compassion for her and helps her when he can. At the end, Rukmani goes to live with her youngest son, now a doctor at the hospital Kenny has built.
Plot summary
Married to a tenant farmer, Nathan, because her family can't afford the dowry for a better match, Rukmani must leave everything she has ever known and learn how to run a household by herself at the age of twelve. Nathan proves to be a tender, thoughtful husband and Rukmani soon comes to love him. Their first child, a daughter named Irawaddy, is born punctually; then six years pass with no more children. In a society where sons were what mattered most, Rukmani grows desperate. She seeks out the help of an English doctor, Kenny, who successfully treats her infertility. Rukmani eventually gives birth to six more children, all sons.Meanwhile, a tannery is built in the village and begins to take over the land. The system of trading, and the quiet way of life for the people who live there is quickly disrupted. Rukmani seems to be the only one who recognizes this as a danger, and stands alone in her protest against modernization. Irawaddy is married off to a well-placed young man; then Rukmani's two eldest sons leave her to go work at a tea plantation in faraway Ceylon. After several years Irawaddy, divorced by her husband because she is barren, returns home.
The family endure a time of drought and famine, and Rukmani's third son, weak with hunger, is beaten to death while trying to steal a calfskin from the tannery. Her youngest son Kuti begins to starve. Irawaddy is forced to turn to prostitution so she can provide food for her baby brother. Despite the extra food, Kuti dies. Irawaddy becomes pregnant from the prostitution and gives birth to an albino boy.
Eventually, the tannery officials buy the land Nathan has been farming for thirty years and evict him. With nowhere else to go, the couple travel by oxcart and on foot to a city, hoping to move in with one of their sons. The son, however, has gone no-one knows where. Completely destitute, they work as stonebreakers at a quarry in hopes of earning enough money to get home. There Nathan dies. Afterward, Rukmani returns to her home village accompanied by a resourceful street boy named Puli, who has lost his fingers to leprosy. She moves in with her daughter and her youngest son, who is now a doctor at the hospital Kenny has built.
Major themes
Throughout the novel, Rukmani is faced with struggle after struggle with no indication that her circumstances will improve. Each time her situation worsens, Rukmani endures quietly, holding on to the hope that things will soon be better. She believes that a person’s spirit is the most important factor in overcoming the harsh realities of life. “Well, and what if we gave in to our troubles at every step! We would be pitiable creatures indeed to be so weak, for is not a man’s spirit given to him to rise above his misfortunes?” (pg 111, 2002 paperback edition)or (Page 84,Chapter 19 in the 2000 Glencoe Literature Library Book). Rukmani has a spirit filled with hope and longing for something more than what she has. This theme runs throughout the entire novel along with optimism. "Hope and fear. Twin forces that tugged at us first in one direction and then in another, and which was the stronger no one could say. Of the latter we never spoke, but was always with us." (pg. 78, 2002 paperback) Fear comes along as a theme with hope, and it is always present it seems with Rukmani and Nathan.Quotations
Epigraph Epigraph (literature)Epigraph (literature)
In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional...
Page vi
"Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve,
And hope without an object cannot live."
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1825, Work Without Hope
Rukmani comments, "Change I had known before, and it had been gradual. But the change that now came into my life, into all our lives, blasting its way into our village, seemed wrought in the twinkling of an eye."