The dialogue above describes the unconscious wish of Pari. Based on Freud’s theory which is quoted from the book Theory of Personality by Feist and Feist,
unconscious is described as the part of mind that contains of all uncontrolled drives, urges, instinct that motivates most of our words, feelings, and actions 2008:24.
Unconscious wish that Pari has in order to live together with Abdullah, to have Abdullah fully, to feel the joy, the comfort and the pleasure that she feels whenever
she spends her time with Abdullah. In this case, Abdullah is the source of Pari’s happiness.
Pari’s characteristic as a spoiled child is not only shown in a dialogue above, but also in the dialogue between Pari and her Father, Saboor. Abdullah’s habit that treats
Pari as the special person makes Pari think that another person, in this case is her
father, will treat her like Abdullah does. That is why she also has so many requests to her father. Unfortunately, her father is not the same like Abdullah. The father cannot
do what Pari asks to him. But these days, Father was always too exhausted from work when Pari
pulled on his sleeve and asked him to make her fly on the swing. Maybe tomorrow, Pari.
Just for a while, Baba. Please get up. 2013:32. “Baba,” Pari said. “Tell a story.”
“It’s getting late,” father said. “Please.”
2013:35.
Those two quotes given above shows the characteristic of Pari that is so spoiling. She delivers her will without thinking. She delivers it in a way that shows a little bit
forcing. The way her brother treats her in order to see Pari’s happiness triggers the feeling
of comfort and pleasure. As a child, she is still attached to some people, she cannot make her own happiness and that is why the feeling of pleasure or joy that she felt
must be given from other people, in this case is her brother and her father. In this part, it can be said that Pari tends to chase her pleasure to other person that she meets, in
this case is her father, and it is caused by her brother’s treatment that always please her excessively. The writer can say that the role of Pari’s Id takes an important part in
driving Pari to be a spoiled person who says her requests to another person with no consideration about the other person’s condition. The natural instinct as a person that
wants to be pleased is shown by Pari’s request that is a bit demanding.
2. Lacking Confidence
In the novel, little Pari and her stepmother Mrs. Nila Wahdati move to France shortly after Mr.Wahdati got stroke. Pari lives in Paris with her mother. Her mother is
the only person that guides and teaches her. The moment to live together with her mother gives good and bad effect to her. The good effect is her stepmother fulfills
Pari’s need, especially the need of education. The bad effect is the closer the relation
between Pari and her step mother, the more she realizes that she does not belong to
her. She is different and she does not resemble Mr. and Mrs. Wahdati. Even though Pari is just a kid, she realizes about that fact.
She didn’t resemble her father much either, Pari believed. He had been a tall man with a serious face, a high forehead, narrow chin and thin lips. Pari kept
a few pictures of him in her room from her child hood in the Kabul house. 2013:214
By seeing her stepfather picture it gives less effect to Pari psychologically, but by living and seeing her stepmother it gives significant effect to Pari, especially
psychologically. She thinks that Maman, the way Pari calls her mother, so much beautiful compared to her. She realizes it and she keeps a wish to be as attractive as
her mother, especially when she knows that her Maman has good ability to attract man’s attention. A man figure in here is Julien, Based on the novel, Julien is the first
man that Pari meets and she often sees him after he becomes her Maman’s lover. Pari watched Maman as she murmured playfull, giggled at Julien’s jokes,
tilted her head and absently twirled a lock of her hair. She marveled again at how young and beautiful Maman was—Maman, who was only twenty years
older than herself. Her long dark hair, her full chest, her starling eyes, and a face that glowed with the intimidating sheen of classic regal features. Pari
marveled further at how little resemblance she herself bore to Maman, with her solemn pale eyes, her long nose, her gap-toothed smile, and her small
breasts. If she had any beauty, it was of a more modest earth–bound sort. Being around her mother always reminded Pari that her own looks were
woven of common cloth. At times, it was Maman herself who did the reminding, though it always came hidden in a Trojan horse of compliments.
Pari understands the difference between her stepmother and her, in this case is the physical difference. She realizes that she is different and there is not any single
thing that represents her mother within herself. The thought about her difference causes the inferiority within herself.
The compliment uttered by her stepmother in order to reinforce Pari is useless. It helps nothing, it gives nothing, it just emphasizes implicitly that she is different and
never be as good as her mother. It just triggers a flaming within Pari herself. Being around her mother always reminded Pari that her own looks were
woven of common cloth. At times, it was Maman herself who did the reminding, though it always came hidden in a Trojan horse of compliments.
She would say, You’re lucky, Pari. You won’t have to work as hard for men to take you seriously. They’ll pay attention to you. Too much beauty, it
corrupts things. She would laugh. Oh, listen to me. I’m not saying I speak from experience. Of course not. It’s merely an observation 2013: 213-214.
Pari sees her mother as a superior and she herself as an inferior. The way Pari sees how different her mother and she herself affects her confidence, especially while
having conversation with a man. Moreover, it also affects her behavior. And yet, under his unrelenting gaze, she could not help her pulse quickening
and her belly tightening. She found herself speaking in an artificially sophisticated, ridiculous tone that was nothing like the way she spoke
normally. 2013:216 In addition, the decision of the author of the novel not to give one or two
boyfriends as a Pari’s friend explains that Pari has no any relation with boy or man, except with her Maman’s lover, Julien. In the novel,
it is emphasized that Pari has no other friend except Collette, which is a girl, who has been a close friend to Pari since
second grade.
