[lit-ideas] Reading Lolita in Tehran
- From: "Veronica Caley" <vcaley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 3 May 2004 22:29:17 -0400
Ceri's comments re being able to see these young women as they really are in
Nafisi's living room hit a note of accuracy with me as well. It made me so
sorry that they have to live in these clothes that make them all look alike. I
don't object to this if they want to do it, but it seemed to me that some of
them didn't but were forced to. Which was also Nafisi's point.
I had a feeling of suffocation as the book proceeds from Ms. Nafisi and the
girls starting out at the University of Tehran which I assume is a relatively
large place. Then from there, they go to the girls college as they are forced
out of the university. Finally they are confined to this one room in Ms.
Nafisi's home. The constriction of their world is disturbing to read about,
catastrophic to experience. Finally, she is at home most of the time, except
for an occasional lunch with another female teacher and the rare visit with her
friend, the one who has withdrawn from it all.
The recurring theme of looking out at the mountain she loves I think expresses
her longing for air, freedom and the wish to be able to resume her former
creative life. I found it very disturbing when she meets some of these girls
later and she learns of their imprisonment, test for virginity, etc. etc.
I also found it insulting that she and other women entering the school grounds
had to go through their own gate. It reminded me of the treatment of the
untouchables in India, though far less extreme.
Then there were these guardians running around checking on everyone's behavior.
I think these guys had gotten so far out of control that the Iranian
government executed five of them lately. I was wondering what Ms. Nafisi
thought about when she read that.
I was also struck by the irony that while her career had virtually ended, her
husband's was blossoming. Being an architect, he was in high demand to rebuild
the city after the destruction of many buildings in the city due to the
Iraq/Iran war.
Actually, I am more interested in the life of the author and her students than
in the literature she is teaching.
Veronica
Veronica Caley
vcaley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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