A gazelle is a gazelle

“A gazelle is a gazelle” is a recurring expression that links Jo’s beauty to the constraints placed on her. Its apparent simplicity masks a shift in use: the old man first offers it as an axiom, Abdellah invokes the gazelle image to rule out Jo’s company, and Anouar later imagines having a gazelle of his own.

The Expression and Its First Use

The old man says, “A gazelle is a gazelle,” as though no explanation could be needed. Hamid smiles and would have laughed if politeness allowed; the remark is followed by the old man’s quiet acceptance of uncertainty about what tomorrow will bring. The expression’s blunt repetition gives it the sound of settled wisdom, while the surrounding exchange leaves its significance open rather than defining it outright.

A Rule That Excludes Jo

When David prepares to leave with the body, Jo announces that she is coming too. The old man’s prohibition is reported as “Pas de gazelles”; he makes clear that there are to be no women, and therefore no Jo. The gazelle image thus becomes part of a practical boundary: David may go, but Jo is to stay behind. She makes only a faint attempt to argue, then helps pack his shaving bag and sports bag. The decision is not presented as a simple victory for the rule: she does not want to go, yet the separation brings tears for the past she feels has disappeared.

Anouar’s Recasting of the Image

As David leaves, Anouar tells him, “Your wife,” is very pretty, and says, “I will one day have a gazelle like that, God willing.” His phrasing turns the earlier image into an explicit comparison between Jo and a gazelle. David’s private question about whether God would be willing leaves Anouar’s confident wish unsettled. Across these appearances, the expression moves from an apparently self-evident saying to a means of naming Jo’s attractiveness and defining who may accompany David; its recurrence connects the language of admiration with the limits imposed on her.