A Woman Is No Man

Isra is pregnant again and fears she will have a third daughter—a third disappointment. Fareeda predicts a boy, but Isra is uncertain: Perhaps Fareeda is being desperately optimistic. Omar’s wife, Nadine, is also pregnant, but it is Isra’s “duty” to bear the first grandson. Isra had hoped that she and Nadine would bond emotionally, but Isra finds her condescending and competitive.

While Isra and Sarah make minced lamb balls, they discuss love and the future. When Sarah expresses a desire for life beyond marriage, Isra tells her to “get used to it. It will be your life soon enough” (159). She scorns her own former idealism about love; she sees her life as “a bad joke” (159). Sarah suggests that she start reading again, but Isra refuses. Despite its appeal, Isra doesn’t want to cause any more problems with Adam or Fareeda. She laments her own lack of defiance compared to Sarah.

After her meeting with Sarah, Deya sits with Nasser a second time, and he brings up the question of marriage. Deya argues that she needs more time, but Nasser cites the Arabic concept of naseeb, that one’s fate is preordained.