Summary
Ayah is spending more time with Masseur. Ayah and Lenny go out walking around Lahore, seeing the city and its various sights. Their outings often end with a visit to Masseur. Lenny can see the desire between Ayah and Masseur. She gives them space to make love, though she imagines his expert hands touching Ayah. Lenny thinks about Masseur’s song, which tells of a bumblebee courting a rose. The rose’s youth, or virginity, is stolen by the bee and she cries. Masseur waits for Ayah all over the city and it is as if Lenny and Ayah can hear his song echoing from all over. Lenny follows Ayah on these outings and Ice-candy-man follows Ayah. He wants to see what she is doing and so hides and follows her.
Ice-candy-man uses his gossip to draw Ayah in. He is a talented storyteller. He describes how the lion tamer Sher Singh got rid of his tenants. Ice-candy-man told him not to trust the courts to help. When Sher Singh asked why Ice-candy-man is helping him get rid of his tenants when they’re both Muslim, Ice-candy-man responded that he serves his friends first of all. “God and the politicians have enough servers,” he jokes. When it comes to telling exactly how he helped the lion tamer get rid of his tenants, Ice-candy-man tries to send Lenny away so she will not hear the obscene details but she insists on staying. Ice-candy-man and his friends went outside their house and exposed themselves. This scandalized the women in the house and angered the men, and by morning they were gone.
One day Masseur comes over to Godmother’s house to massage Oldhusband. Ice-candy-man is there outside the house and sells a popsicle to Cousin.
Another day, Ice-candy-man tells Ayah and Lenny about Bhagwandas the tailor. His wife ran off with the padre of the Catholic mission. Ayah is scandalized. Ice-candy-man jokes that tailors easily seduce women because they have the excuse of touching them when they fit their clothes. Ice-candy-man rubs his hand against Ayah’s bosom while demonstrating and she flashes him a warning. Lenny decides to ask him for the first time where his own wife is and whether she might run away. He says that there are neither tailors nor masseurs, “with their cunning fingers taking liberties,” in the village. This is a sign to Ayah that he is jealous. It is the first time he has expressed his jealousy openly. Lenny keeps asking questions about his wife and Ayah warns him not to ask too much about people’s “womenfolk.”
Analysis
This chapter returns to the themes of sexuality from the earlier chapters. It includes sensual images, such as Ayah “stretch[ing] in the afternoon sun, massaging butter into her calves and smooth shins.” It also shows Lenny’s growing awareness of erotic desire. Describing Ayah and Masseur’s time together, she says: “His voice is gravelly with desire and it makes something happen in my stomach, as when Sharbat Khan, radiant with love, ogles Ayah.” At the same time, all is not perfectly well. Ice-candy-man is showing signs of extreme jealousy as he chases Ayah all over the city to find out what she is doing and who she is seeing. A more dangerous side of Ice-candy-man’s personality is shown in this chapter. Ayah’s warning about not asking about people’s “womenfolk” also shows how are women are seen as property belonging to men in this society.
