Tag: Exit West

Nothing But Animals: An Exit West Analysis

On By Elijah MIn Binaries, Empathy, Exit West, MigrationLeave a comment

 “She felt fear, a basic, animal fear, terror, and thought that anything could happen”

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

In his novel Exit West, Mohsin Hamid uses vignettes to display the effects of the migration through the eyes of different people across the world. Unpacking these vignettes is always a pleasure to do in class as they always bring us as readers closer to the story, immersing us into the world.

In one of his vignettes following a woman facing the effects of the greater world migration in her home country of Vienna, Hamid conveys the theme of people exhibiting reactions of nativism, and activism in response to the civil unrest. Hamid does this through displaying the native peoples of Vienna reverting to a sense of comfort in power dynamics, inevitably losing their humanity, with the woman displaying courage, and hope, actively protesting the invasion of the militants and supporting the migrants. Hamid conveys this distinction metaphorically through an an extended metaphor of animals representing nativism. 

In lines 34-35, upon entering a train on her way to protest, she’s met with hostility from other citizens she considers family due to their shared nationality. “She boarded the train and found herself surrounded by men who looked like her brother and her cousins and her father and her uncles, except that they were angry, they were furious, and they were staring at her and at her badges with undisguised hostility, and the rancour of perceived betrayal, and they started to shout at her, and push her, that she felt fear, a basic, animal fear.” Here Hamid points out their animal like behaviors of the men on the train towards the Woman, showing how the civil unrest in the country has caused them to lose their humanity, attacking one of their own for advocating and maintaining humanity towards the migrants.

In lines 40-44 of the vignette, we see the Woman going to begin her journey to protest the militants occupying her country, going towards a zoo to do so “She gathered her courage, and she began to walk, and not in the direction of her apartment, her lovely apartment with its view of the river, but in the other direction, the direction of the zoo, where she had been intending to go from the outset, and where she would still go.” The choice of the location where she protests being a zoo, alludes to the overall inhuman actions of both the militants Viennas citizens toward both the Woman attempting to support those seeking asylum in the country.

Exit West: Fantasy and Immigration

On By Bella M.In Exit WestLeave a comment

‘Exit West’ is a story based in an alternate reality filled with teleportation doors, a fantasy like concept that the story doesn’t focus too heavily on (as to not drown the rest of the story and its meaning). However unlike most other immigration based stories, which typically focus on the journey of immigration and its hardships, ‘Exit West’ doesn’t do that and is more concerned about the struggles and hardships that come after arriving. The doors play into the quick transition by removing the need for a long winded explanation of the travels of the main pair and other immigrants. The concept of magical teleportation doors could be a concept used in an apocalypse, and indirectly makes commentary on the bizarre sentiment of a mass immigration. The book comments on it by creating a reality where no major consequences are caused by the large number of immigrating people, at most there was discourse among the ‘natives’ and the immigrants, there was no war as some people would like to suggest and the doors are even used by people who wouldn’t usually be considered “immigrants” by the western idea of the term.

‘Exit West‘ is a story of immigrant accented by a fantastical idea and the interesting “romance” between two violently different people and their story of love and suffering.

Change Never Stops

On By OLIVIA T.In Exit WestLeave a comment

Exit West, by Moshin Hamid, is a story about doors opening around the world that can transport a person from one country to another. This phenomenon creates a migration apocalypse. Many people are moving to new countries which creates a lot of changing cultures and music. There is an old woman in Palo Alto who decides to stay in her childhood home as everyone else is moving. Even though she has decided to stay everything around her is changing, making her feel like a migrant in the only place she has ever lived. This Palo Alto Passage presents the theme of uncontrollable change. Everyone will experience change no matter if you migrate or not, and that change is unable to be stopped. Focusing on sentimental values and building community can make a healthy change. While focusing on monetary values will make the change bad.

Exit West and Focusing on the Why of Immigration

On By Jhaden J.In Exit West, Power of Stories/Storytelling2 Comments

The story Exit West by Mohsin Hamid helps imagine a reality where the how of migration is not the focal point of immigration but instead something that just happens, something where anyone could walk through a door and instantly be in a new country. This idea Hamid constructs his book around, these passages being reduced to walking through a door, helps to focus on what was happening that made it necessary for someone to leave their homes in the first place. That idea he invokes helps to restore humanity into these characters while reading, in contrast of the real world where stories of immigration focus on the how instead of the why, stripping humanity away from the people who partake in this journey. Often, this dehumanizing makes it easy to alienate but Hamid challenges that idea throughout the whole book and through his characters of Saeed and Nadia. As Saeed and Nadia go through change with each journey they take through the doorways, we see that migration is normal and identities can alter as a result. Though it is easy to other when looking at the journey of someone else, one you may not be able to relate to, we are all migrators as the world and people around us shift and change as well.

Exit West and the End of Borders

On By Daniel KIn Exit WestLeave a comment

Mohsin Hamid’s novel Exit West tells a story about our world if random doors became portals to other random locations on Earth. People in the novel begin using the doors to escape their own countries in fear of war, poverty, or various other real-world issues that people emigrate from. First world countries such as the United States and England receive an influx of refugees from the portal doors, and respond harshly to this immigration. Efforts are made to forcefully remove the migrants from their shelters, and nativist militias organize and begin attacking the migrants. However, shortly after the conflict escalates to violence, it ends as neither side wished to cause any bloodshed, or do evil things. The world governments organized the construction of new cities specifically designed for the new presence of migrants.

This idea of borders disappearing is something I have thought about before. We are currently in an age of increased global connection, and especially with the creation of the internet and instant international messaging, the separation between nations is gradually decreasing. Immigration has also increased, and many nations are becoming more diverse. But global connection is not without hindrance. Events like rising nationalism in the US and the European reactions to refugees from the Middle East cast doubt on the possibility of a world without borders. I personally believe that too many people are rooted into their nationalist beliefs of their countries, and that if a scenario similar to the one presented in Exit West were to occur in reality, there would not be a peaceful conclusion to the conflict. Sadly, I think humanity has a far way to go before a border-less world can be accepted by many.

Exit West: Why Magical Realism?

On By Maya SIn Exit West, MigrationLeave a comment

Exit West is a novel full of complexities and commentary on migration, relationships, death, war, loss, and the evolutions of our identities over time. What one has to wonder, amid all these layers, is why Hamid chose magical realism as the framework through which to tell this story. Arguably, he could have written a realistic fiction novel that could tell a distinctly similar narrative–or at least communicate the same themes–without the use of magical doors.

I would claim, however, that magical realism is a critical part of Hamid’s story. Through the clearly fantastical element of the doors, Hamid creates a world that is just removed enough from our reality for him to comment on modern society while maintaining a certain distance from it. It’s not hard to draw connections between Saeed and Nadia’s story and real-world debates around immigration, international tensions, racism, and xenophobia. Hamid does not try to hide those themes, but he also doesn’t comment on them directly. He creates this world that is almost ours, but with the distinct difference of the doors, in order to explore these ideas in a more theoretical context. Exit West is the story of our world, if something were to happen tomorrow that destroyed our notion of nations and borders as we know them. That theoretical gives Hamid room to explore vast societal issues without directly commenting on any current events. It allows him to create a vividly relevant novel without referencing any specific real-world events, which both makes his commentary more powerful–as it can stand on its own, without the need for outside context–and helps the reader maintain a Nabokov-style impersonal imagination throughout the story.

Why Saeed and Nadia Were Never Going to Work Out

On By Grace H.In Exit West2 Comments

At the beginning of Exit West, Nadia and Saeed were able to grow their relationship organically. They saw each other when desired and gave each other space when appropriate. However, when war tore apart their country they were forced to live together and then escape their home country together. While this living situation was manageable in the beginning, the lack of personal growth opportunities created an environment of mutual hatred.

This environment of mutual hatred between Nadia and Saeed is not just a problem among them, within the circumstances any “couple” would fall to the same demise. Being forced to live within the same quarters, without the space a blossoming couple needs, is detrimental. Nadia and Saeed were not afforded the ideal situation to grow. Nadia was thrown into the mix with the passing of Saeed’s mother and was almost “adopted” by Saeed’s father. This inadequate situation forced Nadia and Saeed to deal with circumstances a relationship of much longer length would have difficulties navigating. Their fresh relationship was not built for this complicated environment.

With this in mind, it only makes sense that both Nadia and Saeed would grow resentful of each other for the situation that was almost forced upon them. Such complexities only stunted their growth as individuals and a couple, proving the impossible nature of their relationship. In the end, it was bound that their romantic, and even platonic relationship, would fizzle out.

How do you know if you are compatible as lovers

On By Clark T.In Exit WestLeave a comment

Throughout the book Exit West, we see Nadia and Saeed grow together throughout their very long and tiring journey. They start at square one and from there slowly build their relationship as they continue forward. They face many hardships and many challenges along the way yet they always make sure that they stay together. Even though they stayed lovers throughout the whole journey in the end they still only ended up being friends. Their relationship was never built around love but rather the idea that they felt they had to stay together to survive. In the story, it was said, “But while fear was part of what kept them together for those first few months in Marin, more powerful than fear was the desire that each see the other find firmer footing before they let go, and thus in the end their relationship did in some senses come to resemble that of siblings, in that friendship was its strongest element, and unlike many passions, theirs managed to cool slowly, without curdling into its reverse, anger, except intermittently¨(204). The elements of the relationship were more of a best friend or sibling type of correlation and really never resembled lovers. What interests me is why they didn´t realize this earlier. From the start of the book, you could tell that some of their morals and beliefs were different and I think that is what really separates people, is the things that they believe in and have passion for. I think that this can have a big correlation to society now. So many people get divorced now because they realized that they are much better off as friends rather than lovers. But how do you realize this so early? It’s a tough thing to do definitely because it takes time to really get to know someone and realize if they are really the one for you. In my opinion, people now should start getting married at a later age and just date their lover for a longer amount of time until they know if they are a real true love or if they are just a really good friend in the end. This will help lower the insanely high divorce rate that we have currently. Nadia and Saeed are an example of this idea that you can be so close with someone that you love them, but not a lover way, rather more as a friendship way.

Immigration Nation

On By Michael D.In Exit West1 Comment

The United States is a country with a checkered past with regards to immigration. From Columbus’s treatment of Native Americans to the border wall, this country has both been attacked by migrants and then attacked migrants. The world currently lives in a refugee crisis, where people seeking a peaceful place to live away from the persecution of their own countries have fled to parts of the world that don’t want them. In Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West, this is taken to a new extreme when magical doors appear around the globe that transport migrants away from their home countries. This allows the migration process to speed up rapidly, and simultaneously the discrimination against them to rise.

Why does this discrimination exist? Why have immigrants turned themselves into natives, and now discriminate against others who are trying to do what they once did? It boils down to a few things: nativism and “the other”. In Exit West, this appears when some of the Londoners protest the influx of migrants in Chapter 7. This is an example of nativism, and its existence in the United States is oddly paradoxical. Since it is a nation made of mostly immigrants, how can nativism exist? Wouldn’t the nativism necessarily persecute those who are promoting it the most?

The idea of “the other” is also prevalent in both Exit West and the current refugee crisis. In the novel, the London government plans to set up a “halo city” for the migrants. By separating the migrants from “regular” Londoners, they inherently “otherize” them. “The other” also embodies why the nativist mob exists in the first place: they are fearful of the changing landscape of their city and what the migrants might bring with them (culture, violence…), resulting in acts of violence.

Nativism and “the other” are powerful forces acting on everybody. People are fearful of that which is different, so violence occurs. The solution is to find, through conversation, that the two sides are, in reality, not all that different.

Embracing the Change

On By Josiah JIn Exit WestLeave a comment

Humans, as a general whole, do not like change. Change scares us, it threatens our sense of normalcy, and worst of all, its impending and inescapable nature causes the consistency in our lives to be forever fleeting. As a result, as humans, we cherish the stable, unchanging moments when we can find them. We avoid the uncomfortable and the unknown so when they come to our doorstep we run, hide, or fight. An example, highlighted within the novel Exit West, is the constant migration of people to other countries. When we see other people coming into the place we call our home we, as a general whole, run, hide, or fight. Those who choose the option to run will move themselves in an attempt to avoid the new flow of people. Many white people used this tactic in the form of white flight when people of color, who they saw as different and therefor a threat, were moving into their neighborhoods. Those who choose to hide ignore the reality of the situation in an attempt to preserve their sense of normalcy. People often use this tactic when they encounter those without a home. They would rather ignore them and pretend that they weren’t there than acknowledge them as fellow human beings. Lastly, we are left with the third response. Fight. Those who choose to do so fight the influx of new people, ideas, or situations in a futile attempt to resist change. Life, however, is in a constant state of evolution. Nothing remains unchanged and, as seen in Exit West, that change can be, and often is, positive. As a result of the doors, people from all over the world blended together and moved to new places, bringing their culture with them. Marin became a hub of different and new things all coming together to create “a great creative flowering in the region” (217). When we come together as humans and embrace the change and our new circumstances, instead of being destructive towards ourselves and one another, we can create beautiful new things and share our unique experiences with each other, as they did in Marin, creating a better, more accepting and united society.

Migrant Vignettes: A Global Story in Local Vernacular

On By Tim MIn Exit West, Migration2 Comments

In the textbook The Modern Middle East, historian and author James Gelvin describes the history of the Middle East as a “global story told in local vernacular” — which is to say, the region’s history of modernization, colonization, development, and role on the world stage is reflected similarly in other regions across the world. In Exit West, Mohsin Hamid takes a similar approach in telling the global story of immigration with local vernacular, focusing on the single story of Saeed and Nadia and their experiences of emigration (coincidentally, from a country implied to be in or near the Middle East) and resettlement and adaptation while still holding on to their past.

Yet, Hamid also interjects the book with vignettes into different regions of the world, from Australia to Dubai to the Mexican-American border. Some find love, like the elderly man from Amsterdam and the wrinkled man from Rio de Janeiro (173-176), while others find new life, like the suicidal accountant from London (129-131). Some find a cause to fight for, like the young woman in Vienna (109-111), while others use it as a means to act for cause they are willing to die for, like the second man who is implied to be a terrorist from Saeed and Nadia’s home country traveling to Vienna (66-58). Even those who don’t immigrate are faced with immigration all around them, such that they end up in a place very different from the one in which they started, like the old woman in Palo Alto (207-209). The characters of these vignettes are all unnamed, with the implication being that their experiences are representative of the varied yet similar experiences of all humans.

Hamid tells of the global possibilities of the effects of immigration through individual, localized stories written from individual perspectives. It seems that Hamid intends to say: everyone is affected by migration, and though each individual’s experiences are unique, they are all comparable.

NOTE: I took the “global story in local vernacular” quote by James Gelvin from his textbook, which is used in Mr Wolman’s Modern Middle East History course.

Saeed’s Relationships in Exit West

On By LucaLIn Exit West2 Comments

Throughout the novel Exit West, Saeed is influenced by many different people, altering the decisions he makes and the way he acts. Most notably, his love for Nadia pushes him to protect her at all costs, ensuring their prosperity together. However, Saeed is also influenced by his family, and his connection and longing for his parents throughout the novel. Saeed is pulled apart by his two devotions, and must make compromises.

Saeed truly cares about Nadia, and it is evident in his actions. For example, Saeed decides to leave his hometown with Nadia, because he cares about her safety. By doing this he is valuing Nadia over his family, as he is leaving his family in his hometown that is ravaged with war and revolt. He also will be unable to see and connect with his parents after leaving with Nadia. Hamid writes, “‘You go first,’ but Saeed, who had until then thought he would go first, to make sure it was safe for Nadia to follow, now changed his mind, thinking it possibly more dangerous for her to remain behind while he went through, and said, ‘no, she will.” (103). Clearly, Saeed is always thinking about Nadia, and how his decisions will impact her.

In addition, Saeed is impacted by his family, even though he is not with them. This is clearly seen in his devotion to prayer and how he feels connected to his family through praying every day. Hamid writes, “When he prayed he touched his parents, who could not otherwise be touched, and he touched a feeling that we are all children who lose our parents, all of us” (202). Undoubtedly, Saeed’s connection to his family is very strong.

Often people are forced to choose between devotion to a significant other and family, and this is a choice that Saeed has to deal with throughout the novel.

“Put Your Records On”

On By Maggie B.In Exit West1 Comment

Nadia, a main protagonist in Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, explored her own freedom through living by herself in her apartment and moving away from her family. Fulfilling some of her personality, Hamid writes in details and moments that portray her power and individualism. She rides a motorcycle, controls her own vision in front of males so they do not mess with her, and chooses the restaurant Saeed and her meet at (17-23). Specifically, I want to focus on the collection of records described that Nadia chose and filled part of her apartment with. One time when Saeed came into her apartment, Nadia picked one of her records of an old American woman soul singer and let it play (28). At first, I thought this was not that important but later on, when the records came up again I was curious. Now I realize that the records were part of the key in understanding how Nadia develops her own image and identity through her choices. 

Further, how the ability of Nadia’s record collection can serve to satisfy or offer to readers a glimpse into who she is and what she values. Later on in the book when Nadia is living with Saeed and his father she got the records and the player back from her apartment but kept the music hidden because it was forbidden by the militants who would search their homes (84). At first, an act of hiding can be seen as cowardness but upon a closer look, it is evident in this case that even taking the time and risk to retrieve the albums and the player and choosing to hold them in a place illustrates Nadia’s subtle strength. From the simple records, readers can see that Nadia individually still combats conformity by not following all the rules and supports her adventurous nature in exploring herself whether it be through records or a speedy motorcycle. Also, how even the selection of her records including an American singer conveys that Nadia is open to and appreciates global aspects of the world and wants to expose herself to them. Overall, I think the records are a little detail that makes all the difference in composing Nadia’s character throughout the book by giving her her own self-identity development and strength to hold onto aspects of that identity if she wants to.

Migration Happiness

On By Mac P.In Exit West3 Comments

People travel all the time to try new things in their life and in this instance in the book “Exit West” by Mohsin Hamid the reason the people were migrating was for love. People were migrating through the doors to find safety. But while Saeed and Nadia went through the door to find that safety, they also went through to find their new life of love. Like in chapter 9 the Brazilian man kept going back and forth between Brazil and Amsterdam till he found love with the Dutchman, he was travelling for love and found it just like Nadia and Saeed were searching for. While searching for that love and new life while migrating Nadia and Saeed break apart. The novel ends with Saeed and Nadia each happy in their new lives, which signals the peace that can be found in change and letting go of old places. Showing that the new migration life they were looking for didn’t maybe go as planned they still found the happiness in their new life even without falling in love with each other.

Migrants of Love

On By REID B.In Exit West2 Comments

“We are all migrants through time” (209). This quote in Exit West can serve as an overall theme throughout the story. Whether it is through Saeed and Nadia’s relationship fading away with time or migrants having to accept change with time. There are many examples of this in the book. One example is Nadia, accepting the fact she loved Saeed in some ways, but not in a romantic way. She wasn’t comfortable with the responsibilities and family dynamics that came along with being faithful to Saeed. She was in her head too much and couldn’t accept the change. In the same way, migrants may or may not be able to accept the fact that they have to leave their hometown because it is not safe. In the book’s example of this being, although Saeed and Nadia eventually begin loving in their new relationships, the slow process that is required for them to pull apart from each other reflects how their breakup for a major life change, just as migration did. Coming from this is the fact that humans can never unlove. We can never unlove a human or a place. When a breakup is accepted that doesn’t mean someone is forgotten. That is why Saeed calls Nadia on the second night of their separation to make sure she’s safe. It is also the same reason fifty years later, Nadia returns to her native city to find it restored and renewed. A place or human you once loved will ever be forgotten just as a migrant never forgets their home.

The second example is the old lady from Palo Alto. “The world had moved, and she barely recognized the town that existed outside her property” (207). She loved her “old” home too much to accept the fact that her “old” home has changed. Just as migrants don’t want to accept their change in “homes”.

Breaking Stereotypes

On By Sitota B.In Exit West1 Comment

In Exit West, it is pretty clear that Saeed, Nadia’s family, and most of the people from their hometown practice the religion, Islam. From a western perspective and through mainstream media, it seems that Islamic countries show a patriarchal society mostly because of tyrannical leaders who may interpret the religion in a biased way. Either way, ideas like Women shouldn’t make important decisions regarding their own lives, a male guardian should approve women’s marriage or divorce, and more are integrated into the society.

Exit West is very refreshing because it not only breaks common stereotypes of women in the whole world, it destroys stereotypes of women in the world of Islam. This is shown through the character Nadia. Right from the first time the reader meets her, they see that she is not like most women portrayed in literature and media as “she donned a black motorcycle helmet… straddled her ride, and rode off” (5). She wears a concealing black robe but her reason (“so men don’t fuck with me”(17)) sets her apart from most women. She moves away from her family to live independently and unlike Saeed doesn’t miss home when they leave.

I like that these types of books exist so that women can feel more empowered when they read about Nadia. Especially, a world that consistently tries to oppress them. After reading these types of books, it feels easier to live the life you want and fight back with the life that others want you to live.

The Importance of Platonic Love

On By ariel mIn Exit West2 Comments

In Exit West, we see the change in Nadia and Saeed’s relationship. It goes from friendship to romantic and back to friend ship towards the end of the book. No matter how their relationship was going they always stayed together and protected one another. Saeed and Nadia both thought that they were each other’s soulmates and that they were meant to be together, so much so that they thought they would get married. But as they started to grow as individuals they grew apart from each other, realizing that they were more different than they thought they were. Saeed desperately wanted a romantic relationship with Nadia, while she felt more or less neutral about. As their situation worsened and they traveled from place to place, they met new people as well as experienced lots of new things. This opened their eyes and hearts up to the idea that maybe they were not meant to be in a romantic way but in a different more platonic way. This wasn’t a good or bad thing but it was hard to deal with. They felt like they had promised each other that they would stay together no matter what, but when they started to feel safe and grow it became too much work to uphold. They reminded each other of their places of birth, the things they had lost, and the things that they missed. In the end they were always with each other in spirit, which was strong enough to sustain them, and they were able to never leave off on bad terms because they mutually agreed on going their own ways.

We Are All Migrants

On By Ellie DIn Exit West4 Comments

In Exit West, Nadia and Saeed are two very different people. Saeed is very religious and is more conservative, while Nadia is more modern and is not religious. As we move throughout the story we can see the differences between the two as Nadia rides a motorcycle, does not pray like Saeed, and wants to have sex with him before they are married. The two get along well together despite their differences but over time it seems they grow apart.

After leaving their country, both describe feeling tension and feel a coldness towards each other. At the same time, Nadia seems to be finding a part of herself she had been keeping down. To me, Nadia was obviously less traditional than Saeed and many other people, but she put on an act for the society she used to live in. After leaving her home, Nadia started to let more of herself show to others. The narrator describes how she thought of the girl she met in more than just a platonic way and was thinking of her romantically. Nadia and Saeed ended up going their separate ways. Saeed was comfortable with his own traditional beliefs but Nadia seemed to be discovering new things about herself in her new home and seemed to embrace herself more.

I think a huge part of this book is how traumatic events and change, in general, can change us, and even though it can be hard and painful, sometimes it is necessary to discover our true selves. Nadia needed to move on from her home country and even from Saeed in order to truly embrace herself. People and places are not always going to last forever, and sometimes they are just there for our journey, to guide us to the right path to finding happiness and love for ourselves and others. No matter if we are moving from one place, person, or time in our lives to another, we are all migrants searching for a home and searching for ourselves.

The Role Of Technology

On By Katarina O.In Exit West1 Comment

In Exit West, technology is used as a way to connect with the outside world and to find an escape in other countries. The use of social media and the internet plays an essential role in the lives of young people in the city as they are able to distract themselves from the war that is happening before their front door by exploring the different parts of the world.

Saeed and Nadia use their cell phones in different ways but they both use them to connect with each other and with the outside world. “Nadia and Saeed were, back then, always in possession of their phones. In their phones were antennas, and these antennas sniffed out an invisible world, as if by magic, a world that was all around them, and also nowhere, transporting them to places distant and near, and to places that had never been and would never be” (39). The phones allow for a new world to exist, one that is very different than the one that they are currently experiencing.

The cell phones allow Saeed and Nadia to travel and to experience different cultures without having to leave their home and family. The technology allows for these parts to connect and become a part of something that is larger than themselves.

“So Men Don’t F–k With Me”

On By Charles D.In Exit West4 Comments

In Exit West, Nadia is definitely her own person. She moves out from her parents while unmarried, which is culturally abnormal for her. From here, it could be inferred that the role of women in Exit West could be a traditional one. The robe is “conservative and virtually all concealing” (16). Saeed thinks it to be related to Nadia’s faith. After he inquires, “If you don’t pray, why do you wear it?” (16), Nadia responds with the brusque “So men don’t f–k with me” (17).

This is one of my favorite lines in the entire book. It is made even more important through Hamid’s commitment to long, flowing prose. I know this is a character speaking, and not Hamid’s narration, but the contrast is still there. Besides, Hamid could have written the whole novel with punchy little sentences like these. Then, maybe, this line would not be more memorable. I digress. All the same, what really makes this statement work is all the meaning packed into Nadia’s words.

When Nadia expresses the desire to be liberated from male advances, it ties into the patriarchy. There is a big question, though: is she wearing this robe as someone who feels bound by such ideals, or as someone who is independent but does not want any questions asked therein? The argument for the former hinges on the idea that such a robe looks like a patriarchal construction. It swallows Nadia whole and could make her look meek and submissive. Or it may not. We know Nadia is a strong, independent woman, so perhaps she is wearing this robe to avoid all the prodding that would come with her outwardly breaking norms by, say, wearing skinny jeans and a crop-top. She is merely playing a role, does not want anything to do with anyone, and has to get on with being her own self.