Content Warning: This guide section contains discussions of the loss of a child.

“In the eyes of family and friends, Nazperi Nalbantoğlu—Peri as she was known to all—was a good person. […] A fine wife, a fine mother, a fine housewife, a fine citizen, a fine modern Muslim she was.”

Peri is a woman whose character and personality are defined by her relationships with others. Shafak highlights this early in the novel when she notes all the different social roles and identities that Peri fulfills. The author employs anaphora in this passage, repeatedly describing Peri as “a fine” mother, housewife, citizen, and modern Muslim. This establishes how Peri’s sense of self is shaped by many societal expectations, and her goodness is tied to adhering to these roles. However, throughout the book, Peri sheds some of these rigid expectations and comes into her own, making choices and taking action—even if it deviates from societal norms.

“All of that put Peri, the youngest child, in an awkward position, with both parents striving to win her over; her very existence became a battleground between competing worldviews. The thought that she had to make a choice, once and for all, between her mother’s defiant religiosity and her father’s defiant materialism almost paralysed her.”

The internal conflict Peri experiences, trapped between her mother’s religiosity and her father’s materialism, introduces fundamental tensions in Navigating Conflict About Belief and Faith. Describing her existence as a battleground between competing worldviews highlights how Peri feels like she must fight each day, caught between two belief systems and left feeling practically immobile. Although her parents have different perspectives, Shafak uses the word “defiant” to describe each worldview. This highlights the rigidity of each parent’s beliefs, as neither will budge for the other. Seeing no middle ground modeled by her parents makes Peri feel like she must choose one side.