How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Title.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"You ignorant hill girl," she says.
"You don't know anything. Do you?" […]
I understand it all now. (70.Sold.13, 21-22)
Innocence is often tied to roots—when Lakshmi is accused of not knowing, she's often called a hill girl in reference to where she came from. But Lakshmi is smarter than her captors give her credit for, and she claims that she understands the new world order. So who is more aware of Lakshmi's innocence—her captors or her?
Quote #5
But no matter how often I wash and scrub and wash and scrub, I cannot seem to rinse the men from my body. (87.ABucketofWater.2)
Lakshmi is no longer sexually innocent, and like many sexually abused women, she tries to use physical means to cleanse the psychological hurt from her. What does this mean for her innocence, both sexually and spiritually?
Quote #6
And so I held him, too.
Slowly, I put my arms around him and allowed them to stay.
Eventually, we pulled apart. I was the last to let go. (119.AnAccidentalKindness.6-8)
Here we see that Lakshmi's true self is still inside her somewhere, that there is a part of that—despite a long line of horrifying experiences at the hands of strangers—is still inclined to trust. You could argue that this is a bit of youthful innocence emerging in this scene with the hugging man, but we think it's more a mark of wisdom—Lakshmi intuits that she can be vulnerable with this man.