“Maps for lost lovers” Analysis PDF

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“Maps for lost lovers” Analysis In the excerpt from N. Aslam’s novel ‘Maps for Lost Lovers’ a mother and her grown-up daughter of Pakistani descent have a bitter argument about the daughter’s failed arranged marriage and the consequences for her future. The relationship is characterised by deep resentment on both sides: the mother resents her daughter’s independence while the daughter deplores what she perceives as her parents’ lack of support. The text is pervaded by an atmosphere of rage and aggressiveness. To prove this, the narrator uses a lot of words from the word-field ‘violence and brutality’, especially during the most intense moments of the fight (i.e. lunge, snap, clatter, grip, slam, strength, hit me harder, shakes … violently). Furthermore the author makes repeated use of metaphors and similes to emphasize this point. From the very beginning it becomes obvious that mother and daughter have a difficult, strained relationship, as fundamental disagreements emerge early on: the daughter has decided to leave England, the mother, however, takes it for granted that she can still control her daughter (cf. l. 4) and impose a traditional Pakistani lifestyle on her. The daughter, who seems to be somewhat afraid ofher mother, looks upon her as “the most dangerous animal she’ll have to confront” (metaphor, l.9). The quarrel becomes vicious when the mother reveals what a low opinion she has of her daughter (cf. ll.14f.) and the daughter starts to raise her voice and screams at her mother. She openly accuses her mother of not caring enough about her (cf. l.18). The mother regards her daughter as some sort of enemy, which becomes obvious by the simile “Kaukab …stares at her as though pinning a dangerous animal to the ground with a lance” (ll.19f.). Ma-Jabin calling her mother a “fool” (l. 29) infuriates the mother so much that she attacks her daughter physically. (ll. 30ff.). The use of the image “ [she] grips the girl’s … hair like a claw” (l.36) adds urgency to the description of the fight. The daughter responds with physical violence directed at herself (ll.41f.), then insults her mother again by calling her a “moral cripple” (l.45). The quarrel abates when the mother indirectly admits that she envies her daughter her freedom (l. 50) and that she made a mistake (l. 58). But she reminds Mah-Jabin that it was her wish to escape to Pakistan (ll. 58ff.) to forget about an unhappy love affair. This makes Mah-Jabin depressed and sad. The metaphor “ … breaking free of the chains that her mother’s words had briefly become around her ankles”(ll. 65f.) illustrates that Mah-Jabin feels dominated by her mother’s expectations. She ends the argument by walking away with her “head bowed like a lily on a broken stem”(simile, ll.66f.), which reflects her despair....