You Bring the Distant Near

The novel’s final section focuses on the Das family’s matriarch as she undergoes significant character development. In Chapter 14, Ranee decides to become an American citizen after the September 11 attacks. As part of her efforts to assimilate, she begins attending the Johnsons’ Catholic church in Harlem. As she explains to Anna, her new religion is as much about healing from her loneliness as it is about faith: “I have friends there—the first friends I have made for myself in this country” (288). Another facet of Ranee’s transformation in Chapter 14 is her appearance. After decades in white widow’s saris, she begins wearing bright colors again when she becomes an American citizen. Vibrant colors represent life in the novel, and Anna is relieved to see her grandmother out of her mourning clothes: “To see her in all that purple is beautiful. She’s been so muted and invisible, wearing white, white, and more white. The red lipstick and purple eye shadow that matches her muumuu somehow make her look regal, dazzling, eye-catching” (274). As Anna points out, Indian custom doesn’t require Ranee to wear white saris as long as she did, which suggests that neither grief nor tradition is as fixed and immutable as Ranee thought. Her relatives develop the theme of Family Dynamics and Cultural Identity by helping Ranee find a balance between Bengali and American cultures.

In the novel’s final chapter, a new love story emerges. In a major development for Ranee’s character and the theme of Love and Understanding Across Differences, Ranee arranges a meeting between Darnell, who is Black, and her beloved granddaughter, Anna. The narrator reflects on how Ranee has grown and overcome her prejudice throughout the novel:

Years ago she might have been hesitant to open her door to him. After all, his ancestors are from Africa, like those of the son-in-law she used to resent so much. Now Sonia’s husband, Lou, is like a son to Ranee. And this young black man has become a close friend. Almost family, which is good, since she’s living alone now (294).

Her acceptance of Lou and her closeness to Darnell shows her capacity for love and understanding across differences. Indeed, Ranee believes that some differences are actually beneficial in a relationship. For example, she thinks that the contrast between her personality and her late husband’s made their dynamic more interesting, and she sees a comparable contrast in Anna and Darnell: “There’s enough fire in that girl’s soul for two people. And there’s more than enough peace in Darnell’s. Could this be God’s plan?” (296). This excerpt gets to the heart of the theme by showing that romantic compatibility has more to do with people’s personalities rather than differences in ethnicity or religion. Ranee’s certainty in the match she has struck gives her a sense of peace about her family’s future, and she knows her late husband would agree. Perkins gives the novel a happy ending in which the Das family matriarch overcomes her earlier prejudice and comes to cherish love across differences.