In the novel Cutting for Stone, the narrator, Marion, and his brother, Shiva, have unique identities that are defined as early as the start of adolescence. However, as twin brothers they have an almost telepathic connection the unites them. In non-verbal conversations and sleeping as they did in the womb, the Stone twins share a mental synchronization that unites them as one being spread over two bodies. Throughout this novel, this state of union is described as ShivaMarion, literally uniting the two characters. At times, this bond is tested. A notable antagonist to the existence of ShivaMarion is Genet.
Genet's ability to divide ShivaMarion is first recognized on the night that Marion and Genet share as kiss in the pantry. As Marion returns to the bed he shares with Shiva, he remarks to the reader how he did not want Shiva to be able to read his mind as he was too confused and embarrassed by his interaction with Genet to let even Shiva in on his private emotions. "ShivaMarion couldn't hide much from Shiva or Marion. But I squeezed my eyes shut and turned invisible and carried myself to a place where I was completely alone and no one could share my thoughts" (Verghese, 268), Marion expresses his desire to escape the gift of shared connection. Had Marion not discovered his burgeoning sexual feelings for Genet, a physical embodiment of his sexual awakening, he would not have been compelled to evade ShivaMarion. This is the first crack Genet creates between the twin brothers.
ShivaMarion is more dramatically torn apart from the seems upon Marion's realization that Shiva slept with Genet, taking her virginity, and act Marion had been fantasizing about since their kiss in the pantry. Marion feels the future he had imagined crumble. His marriage to Genet, their shared loss of virginity exchanged with one another, and their blissful life as doctors have been tainted as he feels Genet is tainted from her interaction with Shiva. As Marion thinks about Shiva, he comments, "I couldn't think of any other way than to pummel him with my fists until he felt the same degree of pain he had caused in me. I hated my brother. No one could stop me." Marion's perception of Shiva's action as the ultimate betrayal is central to their relationship throughout the remainder of the novel. Marion's anger is only amplified due to Rosina's botched sterilization of Genet near fatal results. He blames Shiva for Genet's suffering.
The final two major separations of ShivaMarion due to Genet are not as much separations of ShivaMarion, referring to the mental connection, as they are physical separations of body. While Marion is in medical school and Shiva is learning gynecology from Hema, Genet is involving in the hijacking of an Ethiopian Airlines plane with conduction to a counter movement group. Due to Genet's public interactions with Marion in medical school, he is listed as a suspect and the monarchy is reported to be searching for him. In order to ensure his safety, Marion flees to America, leaving Shiva behind. The brothers do not see one another for seven years, only having brief phone conversations. However, these phone conversations do not allow ShivaMarion to connect as they once did being in the same room, or even under the same roof.
While sperate from Shiva in America, Marion is re-introduced to Genet, who also fled to the United States due to dangers of her involvement with the Eritrean. Marion finally loses his virginity to Genet, and over the course of two days the two connect on a sexual level multiple times. What seems like a final positive turn to the Genet storyline goes sour after she disappears once more, leaving Marion with sexually contracted Hepatitis B. The infection destroys Marion's liver, and in a last resort to save his brother, Shiva offers his own liver for transplant. The operation appears to be a success, but as the weeks go by Shiva suddenly suffers a brain aneurism and ultimately passes away. Shiva's death is the final, and deepest, physical separation. Had Genet not reemerged in Marion's life, it would be possible to for Shiva to have lived a longer life.
However, even in death, ShivaMarion manages to reconnect. Marion glimpses his own reflection in a window and is startled to see the face of Shiva stare back at him. "We'd go with half a liver, one heart, one pancreas, and two arms…but we were still ShivaMarion. Shiva lives in me," Marion remarks as he reflects on how ShivaMarion was dwindled from two bodies to one; the latter being his own flesh and blood. While Genet's interactions threaten to separate ShivaMarion, the boys share a connection too strong from the moment they were pulled from Sister Mary Joseph's limp body for her to break it.
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