jinn possession

Jinn possession, understood in the novel as a supernatural affliction by spirits, is a recurring motif that shapes the lives of several characters, most notably Nana, Mariam's mother. The condition is presented not merely as a medical or psychological disorder but as a culturally interpreted phenomenon that carries profound social and personal consequences, marking those afflicted as different and often feared.

Nana's Affliction and Its Consequences

Nana's jinn possession is the most prominent instance in the narrative. Mariam witnesses her mother's fits from childhood: Nana would collapse suddenly, her body tightening and becoming rigid, her eyes rolling back, her arms and legs shaking as if something were throttling her from the inside, with froth at the corners of her mouth, sometimes white, sometimes pink with blood. These episodes were followed by drowsiness, frightening disorientation, and incoherent mumbling. The condition had a devastating impact on Nana's life. When she was fifteen, a week before her wedding to a young parakeet seller from Shindand, a jinn entered her body. When the news reached Shindand, the suitor's family called off the wedding. After that, there were no more suitors, and Nana was left to live as an outcast, first as a servant in Jalil's household and then in the isolated kolba where she raised Mariam. Nana herself used the jinn as a threat, telling Mariam that if she left for Jalil's house, the jinn would come and she would have one of her fits and die.

Mariam's Fear and Understanding

Mariam grew up in fear of the jinn. When Nana was angry, Mariam feared the jinn would enter her mother's body again. The condition was a source of terror and a tool of control. Nana's account of Mariam's birth is framed by the fear of the jinn: she claimed that Jalil hadn't bothered to summon a doctor or midwife, even though he knew that the jinn might enter her body and cause her to have one of her fits during delivery. Mariam later came to disbelieve this story, accepting Jalil's version that Nana was taken to a hospital and tended to by a doctor. This disbelief represents Mariam's gradual rejection of the narrative of victimhood and supernatural danger that Nana used to bind her. However, the trauma of witnessing her mother's fits and the social stigma attached to them left a lasting mark on Mariam's psyche.

The Jinn as a Symbol of Social and Personal Trauma

The jinn possession in the novel functions as a powerful symbol of the social and personal traumas that women endure. Nana's condition is both a cause and a consequence of her marginalization. It is used to explain her exclusion from marriage and society, and it becomes a tool for her to control Mariam through fear and guilt. The jinn represents the uncontrollable, disruptive forces—both internal and external—that can shatter a woman's life in a patriarchal society. It is a manifestation of the suffering that women like Nana are expected to endure silently, a suffering that is both medical and social, and that is often interpreted through a supernatural lens that blames the victim. The novel ultimately suggests that the real demons are not supernatural spirits but the social structures and personal betrayals that cause such profound and lasting pain.