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The Pearl That Broke Its Shell
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The Pearl That Broke Its Shell Chapter 54 through 69 August 1st Book Talk
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Irene
(last edited Jul 26, 2015 05:34PM)
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Jul 26, 2015 05:26PM
Q1 What do you think about the events at the end of the novel?
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Q2 What do you think happened to the first wife?
Mod
Just finished the book last night. I loved how this ended. I was very glad for Rahima and thought she was very brave. I was glad to see her get away, and I think the stories of her great great grandmother helped her to be brave and courageous and make her own destiny.
Mod
I would guess that the husband probably did not allow her to return to parliament. He likes to control his women and with Rahima escaping the first wife probably took some of the blame. But since the husband wanted to be rid of Rahima and get a new wife, he was probably secretly glad she was gone, though I don't know if her escape would look bad on his reputation. Though he probably could have created a story about what happened to her that saved face for him.
Mod
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/wor...
After reading the author's interview, I think this story may have been one she heard at the shelter she went to. That's a place to get good material for stories, sad but true.
Sheila that's a terrific article. It's almost like a summary of the novel.
I don't think there is anything wrong with the girls dressing up like boys. I can almost compare it to our Tom girls in the USA.
I have a problem with their society's thinking about females.
How do the characters this book compare to the characters from the other two novels we read in May and June?
Mod
I don't think there is anything wrong with girls dressing up as boys in itself either. My problem is that the girls don't have a choice, or any way, in this. It is not the tomboys that get to dress as boys, it is the girl the parents pick, and the girl only gets to stay this way until the parents say she has to switch back and get married off.
Mod
They are all about strong, independent minded woman, fighting against the restrictions their society places upon them.
Irene wrote: "I don't think there is anything wrong with the girls dressing up like boys. I can almost compare it to our Tom girls in the USA."It's interesting that our society has no problem with girls dressing up as boys (at least outwardly!), but we get so miffed when boys dress as girls. When a boy/man wears a dress it's taboo, or treated as weird, but I can wear a suit and tie, and be treated no differently.
Irene wrote: "Q1 What do you think about the events at the end of the novel?"I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, but had to sit on the ending awhile. I was overjoyed that Rahima was able to escape (but heart-broken at the ultimate causes), but Shekiba's ending left me a little melancholy. As the great example that Khala Shaima presented her as, I was hoping for more...more freedom, more empowerment, more enlightenment. I think I ultimately understand why the author ended it this way--to show how incremental the progress has been for women--but it was still a hard pill to swallow.
Daniale wrote: "Irene wrote: "I don't think there is anything wrong with the girls dressing up like boys. I can almost compare it to our Tom girls in the USA."It's interesting that our society has no problem wit..."
I was thinking the same thing. It is almost as if, to dress in feminine garb, the male is demeaning himself, while the female in masculine garb is freeing herself. Maybe this is a vestage of older ways of thinking which associates the world of the woman is circumscribed compared to that of the man. Or maybe it is evidence that the genders are still far from equal.
This novel did cause me to rethink how we have been programmed to think about the different genders. I believe we should just be humans and respect one another. We should be able to pursue a career and a future we want and there should be no barriers due to gender.
Mod
Which brings about also the whole transgender issue (ie the Caitlyn Jenners et al).
I was talking more like a female doctor and male nurse.
Q3 Compared the characters from the June and July novels to this novel. How are they the same or different?
Sheila wrote: "Irene wrote: "We should be able to pursue a career and a future we want and there should be no barriers due to gender. "Which brings about also the whole transgender issue (ie the Caitlyn Jenners..."
Totally true. I also believe that humans are humans, and we should function in a way that is respectful and doesn't do harm. If someone wants to transgender, marry the same sex, hold a career that is considered only for the opposite gender, what harm does it do? Why does our world have such an issue with people making these choices? I honestly don't understand.
Perhaps that's one reason why I found the gender issues in the novel so interesting. One would assume (or at least I assumed) that the roles taken by Rahima and Shekiba would be treated as inferior or looked down upon with derision. Gender roles in their society are so rigidly defined, and yet a bacha posh is allowed and encouraged as a necessity in some cases. I suppose though, that in the case of Rahima and Shekiba, their gender-role reversal supported the needs of the men, i.e., to protect the harem and to uphold the ideology that only boys can do certain things. Both of these situations ultimately underscored the strict gender roles.
I wonder, too, how far we've come from the idea of strict gender roles. It's easy for us to look at other cultures and raise our feminist fists into the air and shout "injustice!!!" But...five years ago, my husband chose to be a stay-at-home dad, and his family was flabbergast. His mother even called to say she had met "another one." And there is still massive discrimination all over the world. (If you haven't seen Jimmy Carter's Ted Talk on Women's Rights, check it out! http://www.ted.com/talks/jimmy_carter... )
