One of the things that greatly bothered me in the second half of the novel was Marji's marriage. I was on the same page with her mom, about her being a free spirit type of person, and that her getting married symbolized all her education not being worth anything. I understood her moms frustration and tears at the wedding. I felt like it was almost an example of Marji not staying true to herself as her grandmother advised her, like she was giving in to being a house wife and societies pull.
It also made me annoyed that her and Rezi had to get married in order to find out if they could really stay together! They basically wed so they were able to date! How is one supposed to know if they are meant to be with someone if they are unable to spend time together, go places or even make it known that they are in love. I also realized, that Marji only ran into this problem in Iran. A possibility for them would have been to both leave the country...not together of course...and then meet up and basically date in a place like France. There they could live together, or at least go out in public. Marriage is a pretty deep commitment, not something to test out and try. I would never have stepped into the role Marji took.
I was also surprised by her decision to get married to Reza. I figured she might not be ready to take such a big step after her relationship with Markus. She said she thought she loved Reza but she really had to think about it when he popped the question. Based on the harsh rules of society at the time, she really didn't have a choice, like you said. She had to get married to him to see what it would be like. It's terrible to me that they couldn't even walk together without being hassled. In situations like that, I'm not even really sure if religion is truly speaking out. I think it's mostly oppression from the government. It feels like though there might be rules against that sort of activity in the Islamic religion, it's skewed greatly just so the government can "possess" control over the people.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't surprise me much that she loved Markus and Reza, without loving them on a deeper level. At least, I think that's what she realizes when it's over with both of them. In fact, I think she noticed it a mere seven months after marrying Reza. She's very independent and she always had been. She invested faith and trust in the two at certain times but I think, maybe deep down, she never really felt she needed either one of them. That's just not her character. She gives things a shot but it's always just been her, fighting against oppression and trying to fit in. She's completely capable of love, just on a deeper level than either one of these two men were able to provide. I personally think she's just one tough cookie, Marji.