"It doesn't matter how many languages you know...You're not a woman and you don't know him. You won't understand."
Moyna, p. 130
Here, Moyna highlights the novel's theme of the conflict between formal education and lived experience. Though Kanai thinks he knows everything about the world due to his travels and high level of education, Moyna believes it is simply impossible for him to understand her decision to marry Fokir despite the difficulties in their relationship because he is not an impoverished woman in the Sundarbans.