How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
After his first liaison in Ethiopia (and the only time he'd not used a condom), he had relied on the Allied Army Field Method for "post-exposure prophylaxis," as it was called in the books: wash with soap and mercuric chloride, then squeeze silver proteinate ointment into the urethra and milk it down the length of his shaft. It felt like a penance invented by the Jesuits. (2.11.29)
Once again, sex is super dangerous in this novel. Ghosh has sex only once in Ethiopia, and he's immediately infected. He practices prophylaxis, which is basically preventive care, but it's kind of a scary treatment, and it might be doing more harm than the disease he's trying to prevent. Message: SEX = PAIN.
Quote #5
High heels to show off her calves. Dark polish on her toenails. Very pretty, he thought. [...] The land of milk and honey, Ghosh thought. Milk and honey, and love for money. (2.11.64-65)
The signs might seem subtle to us, because high heels and nail polish are pretty commonplace. But Ghosh reads the barkeeper's accessories as signs that she is willing to have sex for money. Ethiopia is associated with the biblical Promised Land, a land of milk and honey, and Ghosh associates it also with an abundance of prostitutes.
Quote #6
Much, much later, they retired to the back room; he closed his eyes and pretended, as he always did, that she was Hema. A most willing Hema. (2.11.92)
And there it is. Ghosh is so concerned about getting infections because he is actually not happy with the sex he's having. And why isn't he happy? Because he's not having it with Hema, his secret crush. So instead of just talking to her about how he feels, he fantasizes that every other woman is Hema. It doesn't really work.