79 pages • 2 hours read
Nadia HashimiThe Pearl That Broke Its Shell
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 40-45 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 40 Summary: “Shekib”
Shekib wakes Ghafoor: Fatima’s health has taken a turn for the worse, and she needs the doctor. She senses the other guards treating her differently, and she realizes she is still all alone in the world. A man pushes Shekiba down, fleeing the harem. Ghafoor and the doctor return. Shekiba says nothing about the man. Dr. Brown examines Fatima and orders the guards to take her to the bath. Her fever needs to be brought down. After the bath, they burst into Benafsha’s room to lay Fatima on her bed. Benafsha is surprised, and so are the others—there is a man’s woolen hat on the floor. Sakina realizes the implications of the questions the guards have been asking and accuses Benafsha of having a male lover. Benafsha is frantic for allies, but nobody comes to her aid. She claims the hat belongs to Habibullah; Sakina suggests taking it to the king if it is his. Benafsha is frantic. Shekib alone notices the red rose petal on Benafsha’s floor. She knows who her lover is.
Chapter 41 Summary: “Shekib”
The guards and the women of the harem discuss what is to be done about Benafsha. The consequences could be dire for everyone involved. As the leader, Ghafoor reluctantly goes to speak with the palace. When she returns, she says that the king wants to speak with Shekib. Shekib suspects betrayal. King Habibullah is furious. He and a vizier take turns shouting questions at her. Shekib lies and tells them that this is the first time the guards suspected an intruder; the king sees through it. Ghafoor had told them about the man they witnessed. Habibullah orders Shekib and Benafsha to be locked up to “make swift examples of them both” (273).
Chapter 42 Summary: “Shekib”
Shekib believes the intruder was Agha Baraan. In the dungeon, she reflects on her situation. Benafsha ruined everything. Shekib asked what their punishment will be. Benafsha replies, “When the crime is adultery, the punishment is sangsaar. I will be stoned” (276).
Chapter 43 Summary: “Rahima”
Rahima is impressed and intimidated by the variety of people in parliament. Zamarud Barakati, a female parliamentarian, attempts to object to that das proceedings, but she is ignored by the head of the assembly. Badriya warns her to stay away from Zamarud: She is trouble, and Badriya wonders why they have not sentenced her to be stoned. Zamarud reminds Rahima of Khala Shaima.
Women in the parliament rarely speak up. Zamarud is one of the only women to do so. At the next meeting, she objects to the choices for the president’s cabinet, suggesting they were chosen based on nepotism. On the fifth day, she angers the assembly by speaking her mind. Parliament erupts in angry protest, but Zamarud continues speaking. Some men shout to shut her up. She accuses the members of betraying Afghanistan “[f]or a chance of fattening your own pockets!” (281). Hamida and Sufia get her to stop talking. The men rise in anger, shouting at her; Rahima and the other women are nervous for Zamarud’s safety.
Hamida tells Rahima and Badriya that Zamarud is right: The appointees, especially the president’s brother, are corrupt. The man was a former Taliban ally. The Afghan parliament is full of warlords, former and current. That night, Rahima confronts Badriya about voting for the cabinet appointees. Badriya is defensive, and she tells Rahima to continue filling out forms. One is an invitation by the government to visit Europe. They dismiss the idea as ridiculous.
Chapter 44 Summary: “Rahima”
A man across the room votes and nods at Badriya; she casts the same vote that he does. The other women notice; they are confused by this behavior. Rahima realizes that Abdul Khaliq put her up to this. She now knows that “cosmopolitan Kabul was, at least in that way, no different from [her] village” (288). Hamida and Sufia are disappointed in Badriya. The moment they enter the car, Badriya slaps Rahima across the face for questioning her. Badriya is even harder to put up with in the city than at home. Hamida and Sufia act differently toward them now. They invite Badriya and Rahima to the resource center that evening. Badriya declines with an excuse; Rahima accepts. They ask Rahima about her marriage and her husband; Rahima realizes she is entering dangerous territory. Their questioning makes her uncomfortable.
The women’s resource center is empty: Most women in the parliament do not use it. The center is run by Ms. Franklin, “a woman in her thirties with a brightness in her eyes that made [Rahima] think she’d never experienced sadness” (293). Ms. Franklin teaches them to use a computer. Rahima is thrilled. An explosion rocks the building: A bomb went off near parliament. The street erupts into chaos. Someone was targeting Zamarud. Hamida’s guard says that Zamarud was killed in the blast.
Chapter 45 Summary: “Rahima”
Rahima and Badriya, along with the other female parliamentarians, are shaken. Abdul Khaliq orders them back to the compound. Rumors and uncertainty surround Zamarud’s fate. Rahima reflects that “My son was the bright spot in my return to the compound” (295). Jahangir is delighted to see his mother. Going to Kabul changes nothing for Rahima in Abdul Khaliq’s household. Gulalai is quick to put her back into her place. Rahima senses change in the compound but learns nothing from her co-wives. She tries to contact Khala Shaima, but she hears nothing from her.
Rahima hears Badriya and Gulalai speaking in hushed tones. Abdul Khaliq is planning on taking on another wife. He plans to get rid of Rahima to meet the Islamic standard of having no more than four wives. He regrets marrying a bacha posh. Gulalai tells Badriya to keep this a secret from Rahima. Khala Shaima finally visits. Her health has deteriorated; it is difficult for her to walk to Abdul Khaliq’s compound. Rahima fills her in on the details of her trip to Kabul. Khala Shaima says that the bomb injured Zamarud’s leg, but she is still alive and planning to go back to parliament. Rahima tells Khala Shaima about the conversation she overheard. Khala Shaima is disturbed. Rahima listens to the story of Shekiba, preoccupied with concern over the impending changes to her situation.
Chapters 40-45 Analysis
In 1964, women officially gained equal rights in Afghanistan. However, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and extremist groups like the Taliban halted progress. Following the American invasion and subsequent removal of the Taliban from power in 2001, women regained many rights through the new constitution ratified in 2004. Women being elected to parliament was seen as a sign of progress: Women were traditionally not allowed leadership roles. However, Badriya and Zamarud’s experience in parliament highlights the double standard held for female parliamentarians by their male counterparts.
Zamarud is the most vocal woman in parliament, and the men do not appreciate it. When she speaks up, Rahima notices that “[s]everal men had rolled their eyes or waved their hand in annoyance to hear her ask for the floor’s attention” (279). Zamarud represents a form of independence that is completely denied to Rahima. The parliamentarian is an outspoken, strong woman who is unafraid of the men that surround her. This is antithetical to Badriya, who merely votes however Abdul Khaliq dictates. To Rahima, these strong qualities that Zamarud exhibits emphasize the changes that she herself has undergone. Unlike her days as a bacha posh, Rahima lives in constant fear of her husband and mother-in-law. Rahima hates herself for becoming someone she thought she would never be.
The course of Rahima’s life intersects with Shekiba’s, and it is not only because they both briefly reside in Kabul. Badriya mentions that she is surprised that Zamarud is not sentenced to stoning; this makes Rahima think of Shekiba, who is awaiting that very fate at this point in the narrative. Shekiba’s part in this section ends fraught in uncertainty about her fate. Rahima faces similar uncertainty. If Abdul Khaliq wants to get rid of her, he will. He is a warlord and has no qualms about killing. The juxtaposition of two women, separated by decades, whose fates are in the hands of cruel men emphasizes the lack of power modern Afghan women hold. Though many years have passed, little has changed.
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