Cereus Blooms At Night

The reader is introduced to old man Ramchandin, Chandin’s father, who was an indentured field laborer living in the barracks in one of the poorest areas of Lantanacamara. He was working to provide a good life for his wife and son, and one day, a Christian reverend from the Shivering Northern Wetlands took notice of Chandin. He visited old man Ramchandin to discuss his son’s future, and the news quickly spread through the barracks that Reverend Thoroughly intended to raise young Chandin in his own home and educate him.

After leaving his home to take up residence with the Thoroughlys, Chandin rarely returned to see his birth family. He integrated into the Thoroughly family and the seminary, although he was one of only two children of Indian descent enrolled. As he grew up, Chandin took notice of his adoptive sister, Lavinia, who grew from an “unremarkable” little girl into an “unusually tall and handsome young woman” (33). Chandin developed an attraction for Lavinia, though he knew he could not express his feelings because she was his “sister” and because of the stark differences between them. As time passed,

[e]mbers of adoration and desire smoldered but what sprang up were flames of anger and self-loathing. He began to hate his looks, the colour of his skin, the texture of his hair, his accent, the barracks, his real parents and at times even the Reverend and his god (33).

Chandin’s resentment caused him to change his entire demeanor, which he hoped would cause his admiration to go unnoticed. However, the Reverend noted Chandin’s affections toward Lavinia and demanded that he forego his feelings because they were wrong and unnatural.

Chandin worked to forget his feelings as he and Lavinia grew into young adults, but he was given an opportunity to act on his feelings during a cricket match at the Reverend’s home. He batted particularly well and enjoyed the attention that his performance received from Lavinia. During a break in play, Chandin learned that the Thoroughlys were planning to leave Lantanacamara to spend time in the Shivering Northern Wetlands. They would be gone for several months, and Chandin panicked, deciding that he must confess his feelings to Lavinia before she left. Lavinia rebuffed his advances, telling him that he must not speak of them to anyone.

Months passed, and Chandin grew increasingly depressed at seminary, waiting for the Thoroughlys to return. To his dismay, Lavinia decided to stay behind and spend more time with her extended family. The news made Chandin even more despondent, as he feared that she would never return to Lantanacamara at all. Several weeks later, Reverend Thoroughly gave Chandin the news that Lavinia was engaged to her cousin. Chandin was stunned, and the Reverend explained that the two weren’t actually blood relatives. In his state of shock, Chandin told the Reverend that he was thinking of marriage and intended to marry Sarah, Lavinia’s childhood friend and the only other Indian student at the seminary. The Reverend was surprised but agreed to speak to Sarah’s family. Chandin and Sarah were married soon thereafter.

The beginning of this section returns the reader briefly to the present and Tyler’s first-person narration as he reflects on this story and continues to care for Mala. One day, Mala finds a cat in the yard and calls it into her arms. She repeatedly refers to it as Pohpoh, and Tyler, believing it belongs to her, advocates on her behalf so that she may keep it. He is not yet aware that Pohpoh is not the cat’s name but the nickname Mala had as a young girl.

Tyler recalls that Nana told him that Chandin eventually began an incestuous relationship with his oldest daughter, but Nana was unable to finish the story before Tyler’s mother returned home. Tyler considers that Nana would be surprised to know that by meeting and caring for Mala, he has been able to learn the whole story. With this in mind, he returns to a retelling of Mala’s origin, explaining that she was born soon after her parents, Chandin and Sarah, were married. He describes the relationship between the two as distant and reserved, and Chandin treated his children similarly. His attitude shifted when Lavinia returned to Lantanacamara after breaking her engagement. Lavinia decided to pay a visit to Chandin and his family, so he bought new adornments for both himself and the house, growing hopeful that Lavinia would be impressed by him and finally reciprocate his love.

Lavinia’s visit was successful in that she easily resumed her friendship with Sarah and connected with Mala and Asha. She began to visit regularly, though she was less interested in spending time with Chandin and much more devoted to Sarah and the children. She spent a great deal of time in the yard with Mala and Asha, showing them the cereus succulent growing there and explaining to Mala that it only blooms for one night once a year. Mala was captivated by it, as well as by a snail she found crawling across one of its leaves. She attempted to remove its shell, but Lavinia urged her not to, explaining that killing snails is bad luck. By contrast, protecting them brings good fortune, as snails never forget their protectors, even after they die. This story left a deep impact on Mala, influencing many of her actions throughout her childhood and into adulthood.

Chandin, meanwhile, observed that Lavinia was still not interested in his affections and returned to being sullen and resentful. One day, Mala observed her mother and Lavinia in a moment of quiet intimacy. Her “heart leapt when she saw the tips of Lavinia’s fingers grasping Mama’s waist […] save for a flash of an image of her father’s face in her mind, she had no words to describe what she suddenly realized was their secret” (56). Mala discovered that Lavinia and Sarah’s relationship was romantic. Rather than chastising her for learning their secret, however, Lavinia told Mala how much she loved her, Sarah, and Asha. Mala realized that she had to keep this secret from her father. From this point forward, Lavinia and Sarah no longer kept their affection secret from the girls.

The story implies that Chandin began to suspect a deeper connection between Lavinia and Sarah. During the school holiday season, he decided to take his family and Lavinia to the beach for the day, and Mala could sense that he was quietly observing the two women’s interactions. While at the beach, they all took photographs of each other, and Chandin caught an intimate touch between Sarah and Lavinia through the camera lens. After the day at the beach, Sarah and Lavinia seemed to be aware that they were found out—or that they soon would be—so they planned to flee Lantanacamara and take Mala and Asha with them.

On the day of their planned departure, Lavinia arrived at their house much earlier than she normally would, though Mala and Asha didn’t suspect anything different about her visit. Sarah and Lavinia began to gather their belongings. As they were about to leave, Mala suddenly ran back to the house, crying out that she forgot the special items she had planned to bring with her: bugs, leaves, and shells from their garden, in particular, a clipping from a cereus plant. Lavinia ran after her, attempting to coax her back to the carriage, when Chandin unexpectedly arrived at the house. Upon seeing Lavinia and Mala out on the veranda, he immediately understood what was transpiring and attempted to stop Sarah from leaving. In all of the screaming and confusion, Sarah and Lavinia were able to flee, but Mala and Asha were left behind.

Chandin cut a path of destruction and rage through his house that left both girls terrified. In the ensuing days, he left his job at the schoolhouse, began to drink heavily, and never let the girls out of his sight. He even demanded that they sleep in the same bed as him. One night, in a half-asleep state, he mistook Mala for Sarah; once he fully awoke, he raped Mala for the first time. From this moment on, Chandin abused one of his daughters nearly every night. The bond between Mala and Asha strengthened due to their shared trauma, and Mala grew protective of her younger sister. The section ends with Mala going to their father’s room in Asha’s place to allow Asha a night of peaceful sleep.

The narrative jumps back to the present day at Paradise Alms House. Tyler is having a conversation with the gardener, Mr. Hector. He recalls that Mala’s yard was full of a wide variety of plants, and he wonders if contributing to the garden might bring her joy. Mr. Hector has also picked a gerbera flower, which he wants to give Mala. Tyler is pleasantly taken aback at his kindness toward Mala but also tries to obstruct his path toward her. He senses that because of Mala’s affinity for nature, she may react poorly to the cut flower offering. As he explains to Mr. Hector, “I am beginning to understand some things about her and I think that she does not like things in nature to be hurt. To her, the flower and the plant would be both suffering because they were separated from each other” (69). Mr. Hector understands this characterization of Mala, so he offers the flower to Tyler instead, resulting in a moment of awkward tension between the two. Tyler accepts the flower and returns to tend to Mala.

While escorting Mala through the yard, Tyler is lost in thought about Mr. Hector and the sudden attraction he felt toward him during their exchange. His reverie is interrupted by Mala, who begins to sing an old children’s rhyme. Tyler joins her, and amid their sing-a-long, Mr. Hector approaches again, this time with a full gerbera, ready to be planted. He insists that Mala will be the first resident to put a plant in the garden. Tyler appreciates this idea and is struck by one of his own. He runs to Mala’s room to retrieve a cereus clipping, left for her by unknown visitors who attempted unsuccessfully to see her during her first few days at Paradise Alms House. Tyler tells Mr. Hector they should plant the cereus instead. He obliges, though he remarks that the cereus is scraggly and ugly by comparison.

As Mr. Hector plants the cereus and continues to work in the garden, he tells Tyler about his older brother, Randy, who was “kind of funny,” like Tyler (73). Their father used to beat Randy until eventually, their mother sent Randy to a secret place to protect him. Mr. Hector never saw his brother and barely spoke of him ever again. He explains that when he sees Tyler, he is reminded of Randy, evoking memories that make him both heartbroken and glad. Tyler ruminates on Mr. Hector’s story even after he leaves and then realizes that in his distraction, Mala wandered to another part of the yard. She makes her way over to him, clearly hiding something under her arm. He walks her back to her room, at which point she reveals that she stole one of the nurse’s dresses and a pair of stockings. He initially believes that she wants the dress for herself, but she matter-of-factly states that Tyler is the one who wants to wear it. Tyler cannot help but acknowledge that Mala is right, and he accepts the dress from her, telling her that he will change into it here so she can see him in it.

Tyler uses Mala’s bathroom to change into the stolen dress and quickly applies some makeup. He steps into the room to show Mala his complete look, only to find that she has started to create a precarious tower made up of the room’s furniture. She glances at Tyler but barely acknowledges him before returning to her task. At first, Tyler feels slighted that she is not more excited to see him in the dress she stole for him, but then he comes to understand that “[t]he reason Miss Ramchandin paid me no attention was that, to her mind, the outfit was not something to either congratulate or scornt—it simply was” (77). Tyler appreciates Mala and their connection even more after this realization and decides to keep the nurse’s uniform hidden in Mala’s room in case he wants to wear it for her again.

Jumping back in time to Mala’s youth, she and her sister Asha continued to grow up as normally as possible despite the continual abuse. They attended school and cultivated friendships, including a friendship with Mala’s classmate “Boyie.” The three often adventured through Paradise together and, one day, Mala decided they would go to play at El Dorado Park. They had to before the other crew of children led by Walter Bissey did so they could take charge of the games. Although Walter was “bossy” and unkind to Mala and Asha, Mala also admitted that she wanted Walter to like her.

When Walter and company arrived, Mala beckoned them to play Blindman’s Bluff with her and her friends. They used a playful rhyme, the same one Mala sang to herself at Paradise Alms House, and selected Mala as the first “Blindman.” After they blindfolded her, the rest of the group spun her around, poking and prodding her until they all silently disappeared. With no one responding to her calls and unable to find anyone, Mala removed her blindfold to discover that Walter’s group ran off, leaving little Asha behind, gagged and tied to a standpipe. Boyie was nowhere to be found. Mala untied her sister and furiously confronted Walter. He teased her about her mother and the rumors about her disappearance, casting aspersions on Mala’s own sexuality. Finally, Mala, driven into a rage, physically assaulted him, and then she and Asha fled. They took refuge in a nearby cemetery until they were certain they escaped Walter’s wrath. As they hid, Mala tormented a group of ants, cutting one off from the rest by drawing a ring of chalk around it. When Asha asked why, she declared: “Because. I hate Boyie. Why didn’t he stay with us? I hate Walter. I hate everybody [...] I wish Papa was dead. [...] I hate him. I hate him. I wish he was dead” (89).

The scene jumps to Mala and Boyie in the schoolyard, presumably having reconciled and protecting snails from being tortured by Walter and his crew. After they gathered as many periwinkle snails as they could and removed them from the schoolyard, Boyie turned to Mala with admiration, chanting her name, “Pohpoh Ramchandin.” Mala responded to his affections by seducing him, asking if they could go to his house. Boyie was hesitant, but let Mala lead him back to his house and into his room. Mala undressed, and the two started to become intimate. Mala stops just before intercourse, as she achieved the level of pleasure and arousal she hoped for. She abruptly put her clothes back on and returned home.

In the present day, Tyler learns that he may be assigned to work with other residents rather than devoting all of his time to Mala. As if in response, Tyler and the rest of the nurses discover one morning that Mala has erected another furniture tower. Sister decides that Tyler must keep attending to her. Some days later, Mala receives visitors, presumably the ones that attempted to visit after she first arrived. When Tyler takes her to greet them, they encounter a well-dressed older man wearing a top hat and a young man dressed androgynously, who immediately captures Tyler’s attention. They introduce themselves as Ambrose Mohanty and his son, Otoh. As Ambrose excitedly tries to talk with Mala, Otoh explains that Ambrose and Mala were childhood friends, and he begins to tell Tyler about their history as Pohpoh and Boyie.