The Covenant of Water

The unnamed girl realizes that her husband is 40 years old to her 12. She also realizes, to her dismay, that her new home is so far away from her childhood home that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to visit. The marriage broker ensures that the match will be an auspicious one, even as the groom is astonished to see a child. His sister, Thankamma, steadies him and reassures the girl. Child marriages are not unusual, she notes. The two are wed.

The omniscient narrator also recounts the history of the spice trade, as Europeans flocked to the East to procure commodities they could resell for high prices at home. These traders brought with them the Christian religion, converting certain groups of Indians. The omniscient narrator also notes that, according to legend, it was Saint Thomas himself who, in the year 52 CE, converted the first Indian Christians. The narrator then looks into the future to describe how the child bride will one day tell the story of her people to her own granddaughter: She will understand that “[a] good story goes beyond what a forgiving God cares to do” by revealing the secrets that both bind a family together and tear it apart (16).

The girl’s new husband has lost his first wife, with whom he had a son, JoJo. The young boy clings to her immediately; they have both lost a parent. She also discovers that her husband is wealthy, with 500 acres of land to his name. She meets the elephant that often visits the estate, and the creature gives her a bundle of jasmine; they make an immediate connection.

Thankamma proves to be an efficient cook and kind caretaker, helping to make the young girl comfortable in her new household. The girl also meets Shamuel, a pulayan, a member of “the lowest caste” (24) (See: Symbols & Motifs), who works on the estate. Shamuel tells the girl that the elephant is called Damodaran, Damo for short.

Meanwhile, Thankamma wants to make the marriage a success and tells the girl to feed her husband sweets, then ask for whatever she wants. The girl is surprised to find that her husband is uncertain about the union as she is. Thankamma tells the girl that her brother is actually quite a sensitive man. She reassures her that the marriage will work as time passes.

Thankamma departs for her own home, leaving the girl alone with her new husband. She wants to write to her mother, so Shamuel procures some paper and ink. Her mother writes back to tell her that her brother has married, and his new wife has moved into their family home. She discourages her from visiting home.

In Thankamma’s absence, the girl cares for JoJo, who fights her every effort to give him a bath: When she tries to wash his hair, pouring water over his head, he almost goes into convulsions. Besides JoJo, the girl has no visitors or friends. She keeps busy preserving the mangos that grow abundantly on the estate, and when she takes some preserves down to the cellar, she feels a presence she believes is the ghost of JoJo’s mother. The monsoon season descends, and while the girl feels that her husband is uncomfortable with all the rain, she begins to get her footing. She is starting to acclimate to the household.

Three years have passed since the girl first arrived at Parambil. JoJo is five, and she has become a steady presence in his life. The girl is missing her Bible, but finally she finds one at the bottom of her husband’s former wife’s trunk in the cellar. She is fasting for Lent, and she feels alienated from her husband because he doesn’t fast. In the wake of his first wife’s death, he has lost his faith. He worries about JoJo growing up without his mother. The girl reassures him that JoJo has a mother in her; that the child never need know that his actual mother died. The husband asks the girl if her life is satisfactory on the estate. She notices his concern, but she asks to attend church. He allows this, though he himself will not attend.

The elephant, Damodaran, visits again. It is the girl’s birthday, and she is sure that the old elephant knows. She feeds the elephant, as she feeds her husband, who grows increasingly attached to her cooking.

After being married for five years, her husband finally comes to her and takes her to his bedroom. Previously, she has slept on the mat with JoJo. For the first time, they have sex. She feels she is ready and appreciates that he has waited until she was, but the physical experience of sex shocks her, and she resents that no one has told her what to expect. She has started to fall in love with this older man who is so quiet but considerate.

The girl is concerned about her mother, so her husband and Shamuel travel to retrieve her. Having been mistreated by her son and daughter-in-law, she will now live with her daughter and her daughter’s husband on the estate. The first thing her mother notices is that her daughter is pregnant. While the girl chastises herself for not rescuing her mother earlier, the omniscient narrator predicts that Big Ammachi (Big Mother, the name JoJo calls her) will eventually be a maternal figure to all.

Big Ammachi gives birth to a girl, who will be called Baby Mol all her life, and Ammachi’s connection to the estate at Parambil feels more permanent. She is helped by her mother and some of the villagers that her husband has been generous to, including Dolly and Decency Kochamma.

JoJo has grown adventurous and wanders the estate. He has always avoided water, but his playmates encourage him to swing from a rope into the water. One of the children reports back to Big Ammachi that JoJo is “hiding in the water” (70). She springs into action, only to find the child drowned in shallow water; he cannot be resuscitated.

Big Ammachi’s faith is tested by JoJo’s untimely death; he is only 10 years old. Her husband elaborates on the family’s legacy: They have inherited “The Condition,” which leads to a drowning at least once a generation. Her husband admits that his mother kept him mostly confined to the area so that he would not have to cross water to get to school. He decided not to confine JoJo in that way. He provides Big Ammachi with a family tree—which she decides to call “the Water Tree” (79)—indicating who died by drowning over the generations. Big Ammachi prays for God to send someone who can understand the Condition and find a cure for it.