“The carriage proceeded along Palace Walk, and her husband headed for their door. She left the balcony for the bedroom. Picking up the lamp, she went to the sitting room and then to the hall to stand at the top of the stairs. She could hear the outside door being slammed shut and the bolt sliding into place. She imagined his tall figure crossing the courtyard as he donned awesome dignity and shed the mirthfulness which, had she not overheard it, she would have never thought possible. Hearing the tip of his walking stick strike the steps of the stairway, she held the lamp over the banister to light his way” (7).
This passage struck me because it related to my family the most. I noticed how she would wait for her husband to get home from his “night of entertainment.” At first in the book, I thought she waited for him so much because she wanted to hear the stories he could bring home and tell her about so that she could educate her family, but as I continued reading I noticed that there was more to it. She actually loves him, and I think this passage shows that.
Of course as Americans, who don’t practice arranged marriages we think that you must love someone in order to marry them, well, in most cases. But, in arranged marriages, they don’t always initially love the person that they marry. With this presumption that Amina and Ahmad’s marriage was one of these, I was surprised when I saw signs that she actually loved him. It’s very evident from the first couple pages of the book that she cares deeply about her family, but her compassionate love for him wasn’t really shown. Later in the book, she talked about how she liked him better when he was in a better mood and would talk to her and this could potentially be the reason we don’t see this. The fact that at one point in the book she admits that she lived to see him return home from his night of entertainment, made me see just how much she really did love him and worked to please him and make him happy. Amina works all day with her daughters to make sure he has a nice home to return to.
I think this passage is evidence to how much she really cares about her husband and wants to see him happy. Amina does a lot of work to prove her love and devotion to her husband and makes it clear through this passage and other things she’s said in the book, that she really does care about her husband.
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She could do everything she does for him because she loves him, but it could also be because she fears him. Is Amina driven to behave the way she does with Ahmad because she loves him or because she fears him? It could be both, but I think that her fear is what drives her more than anything. She does everything he commands her to do because her fear won't allow her to say no to him. Aisha tells Khadija that her mother "is a gentle dove and wouldn't know how to say no" (125). Amina is a dove and Ahmad acts like a dog that barks at anything, so the dog scares the dove.
ReplyDeleteWe see throughout the book several occasions when she is filled with fear by him. For example when she intercedes for Fahmy before him, he becomes angry. Ahmad degrades her with his words, and the author says that she responded "him in a trembling voice" (156). Here we see a sign of fear. Ahmad kept releasing his anger on her and she "listened with her head bowed, not uttering a word" (157).
When she left the house without permission and got hurt, she couldn't lie to him, not so much because she loved him, but because she feared him. When Ahmad asked her what had happened, she told him the entire truth. The author says that the situation was "terrifying" (183).
Amina acts subserviently when she is with Ahmad because her fear won't let her do otherwise. She can't go against him. She said herself, "My opinion is the same as your, sir. I have no opinion of my own" (156). She's submissive because she has no option, but to do so. She's too fearful to resist.
I definitely agree with the fear aspect but another question that also comes into play is why does she fear him? Because she's supposed to? Because he gives her reason to? Or both? I'm not sure about either of those questions but I don't feel she's acting on fear alone. I think she does love him and/or have some sense of compassion for him, or at least some of the time. On page 11 she the narrator says,
ReplyDelete"Another of its other virtues was the tendency it produced in him to be kind to his obedient, submissive wife. It was what she longed for when she was with him. He was companionable and talkative. He would tell her his innermost thoughts, thus making her feel, if only for the moment, that she was not just his servant but also a partner in his life."
I feel that this was what she really wanted. She really wanted to belong to him and feel that she was loved by him (as any woman would) but she particularly liked when he was drunk because that was the only time she got that from him.
I do agree with you that she is afraid of him, but I feel that she sometimes acts out of obedience and compassion (occasionally) more than fear. I don't think fear is her only motivation for doing her duties as his wife and as a mother to her children.
Excellent discussion, ladies! Look back at the original passage quoted by Dee. What clues does the author give you about Amina?
ReplyDeleteI think the main reason why Amina does all these things for Ahmad is because she fears him more that anything. Yes, it is true that Amina does like certain aspects of Ahamd such as the way he is submisive and talks to her when he is drunk, but is it really possible to truly love someone only when they are being nice? To me that is not love. Real love involves loving that other person no matter what condition they are in and it seems that Amina only loves Ahmad when he is drunk. Love doesn't come from fear and Amina fears Ahmad to the point where she can't even express what she thinks. I think it would be impossible for Amina to truly love Ahmad.
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