A Private Experience

One of the first things that Chika notices when she encounters the woman is her scarf. To Chika’s eyes, the scarf has “the garish prettiness of cheap things” (44), so for her, it instantly telegraphs the woman’s social and financial status. The scarf also tells Chika that the is Muslim. For the woman, the scarf is a symbol of her faith, piety, and cultural identity; for Chika, it embodies the woman herself, reflecting her initial reductive attitude toward her. To her, the scarf symbolizes all of the ways she is superior to this woman, though her biases lessen over the course of the story.

The women’s growing trust is represented when the woman takes off the scarf and places it on the floor to pray. Chika turns her eyes away from this intimacy, though she envies the woman’s faith, and this moment permanently changes her attitude toward religion. Later, when her family prays in church, she has more compassion for their faith. Removing the headscarf becomes a sort of barrier-breaking, something that allows Chika to see past stereotypes and cultural biases and appreciate earnest faith.

The scarf’s symbolism as a cultural bridge deepens when the woman uses it to bind Chika’s leg wound.