untouched by soot and flint

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Arura77

Member
Spanish
Hi!
I've come across this paragraph in a book. Context: a woman suffers from postpartum depression and finds her mother, her husband and her mother-in-law disgusting. They live in Pune, India. At a certain point, she says:

I dream about killing them all sometimes. Not me, but some version of me, a masculine me, a muscular me. Their bodies are left to rot. They bleed different colours, and the baby is happy that they are dead and knows they’re more beautiful this way. We burn them together and are untouched by soot and flint.

I'm struggling with the last part of the sentence («untouched by soot and flint»). Does anybody have an idea of what this might refer to? Maybe something to do with how bodies are cremated in India?

Many thanks,
R.
 
    • Myridon

    Myridon

    Senior Member
    Texas
    English - US
    soot - WordReference.com Dictionary of English
    a black, carbonaceous substance produced during incomplete combustion of coal, wood, oil, etc., rising in fine particles and adhering to the sides of the chimney or pipe conveying the smoke: also conveyed in the atmosphere to other locations.
    Click to expand...
    If you are burning something that produces soot and the smoke gets on you, you will be covered in soot.
    Flint is a type of stone used to start fires. Starting a fire with flint can produce some flakes and dust which I suppose could get on you.

    There is no trace of soot or flint on them even though they are burning the bodies.
     
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