In any small town- and I would venture to say in any country- the knowledge of everyone's business along with the legal and social guidelines of behavior can be suffocating. Geeta's "suffocation" is also monetary at one point. Despite trying to earn money by making jewelry, brides initially shun her necklaces, fearing that rumors of Geeta's self-made widowhood will afflict their future happiness. Things shift when people begin to fear what will happen if they don't show some respect towards her. The politics continue to affect the women because it is a balancing act to be feared but respected versus having fear turn into hatred strong enough to motivate others to kill the object of their hate. However, there is also the cultural politics and poverty, the need for families to get their daughters wed so that they have one less mouth to feed. Sadly, the extreme poverty means there aren't dowrys to attract quality suitors, and young pre-teens are wed off to old men. And even when married, there are acts of betrayal such as Ramesh telling the village how poorly Geeta's father had handled money, reminding everyone he'd married without a dowry.