Marco Polo and Lisa

Chowringhee

This flow traces Lisa’s passage from a staged role in Marco Polo’s divorce plan to a genuine late-life partnership.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

An Old Connection An Old Connection from "Chowringhee". Lisa in the Past Shared History Lisa once sang in Calcutta and knew Marco Polo and Susan Munro during their troubled marriage.

An Old Connection from "Chowringhee". Lisa in the Past Shared History Lisa once sang in Calcutta and knew Marco Polo and Susan Munro during their troubled marriage.

Lisa in the Past Shared History Lisa once sang in Calcutta and knew Marco Polo and Susan Munro during their troubled marriage. Her own career and health later deteriorated. Forgotten Link Marco Polo loses track of her, while she becomes one of the hidden lives in the city. Their earlier contact returns unexpectedly through B. Byron’s investigation.

The False Affair The False Affair from "Chowringhee". A Legal Performance Arrangement Lisa agrees to pose as Marco Polo’s adulterous partner so that Susan can file for divorce.

The False Affair from "Chowringhee". A Legal Performance Arrangement Lisa agrees to pose as Marco Polo’s adulterous partner so that Susan can file for divorce.

A Legal Performance Arrangement Lisa agrees to pose as Marco Polo’s adulterous partner so that Susan can file for divorce. The plan requires fabricated meetings and letters. Price She asks for money, which Marco Polo struggles to pay. Their relationship at this stage is transactional, not romantic.

Years of Decline Years of Decline from "Chowringhee". A Life Narrowed Hardship Lisa, now known as Elizabeth, lives in poor health and cannot walk easily after an inadequately treated leg injury.

Years of Decline from "Chowringhee". A Life Narrowed Hardship Lisa, now known as Elizabeth, lives in poor health and cannot walk easily after an inadequately treated leg injury.

A Life Narrowed Hardship Lisa, now known as Elizabeth, lives in poor health and cannot walk easily after an inadequately treated leg injury. She survives through precarious work and help from other women. Recognition Shankar recognizes her as the woman from Marco Polo’s story. The distance between a glamorous hotel past and her present poverty is stark.

The Reunion The Reunion from "Chowringhee". Care Replaces Transaction Return B. Byron brings Marco Polo to Lisa, and the old acquaintance becomes an encounter between two people changed by time.

The Reunion from "Chowringhee". Care Replaces Transaction Return B. Byron brings Marco Polo to Lisa, and the old acquaintance becomes an encounter between two people changed by time.

Care Replaces Transaction Return B. Byron brings Marco Polo to Lisa, and the old acquaintance becomes an encounter between two people changed by time. Marco sees beyond her physical decline. Choice He nurses her and arranges medical care. Their affection becomes genuine, built on attention rather than on the fabricated role of an affair.

A Future in Africa A Future in Africa from "Chowringhee". A New Departure Constraint Marco Polo cannot marry Lisa under Indian law and does not want to live with her outside marriage.

A Future in Africa from "Chowringhee". A New Departure Constraint Marco Polo cannot marry Lisa under Indian law and does not want to live with her outside marriage.

A New Departure Constraint Marco Polo cannot marry Lisa under Indian law and does not want to live with her outside marriage. Their future requires leaving Calcutta. Resolution He accepts work at a hotel in Africa, where they can live as husband and wife. Their late-found relationship receives a practical, if distant, home.

Before Marco Polo's return to the Shahjahan

During Marco Polo and Susan's planned divorce

Many years after the fabricated divorce plan

Near the end of Marco Polo's investigation

After Lisa's treatment begins to help