Independent Characterization of Maryam Mazar

31 tradition. She grows to be a disobedient woman and does not want to follow the tradition since she wants to be free. We never really escape. All I ever wanted as a child, a young woman, was to be free of etiquette and tradition, arranged marriages and everything just so. All I found was another world where I had to work out the new traditions, habits, how to appear just so. Isn’t it silly? 222 This quotation really represents how Maryam tries to escape from the tradition. She wants to be free from rules and obligation. ‘But do we have what we need, or know what we want? Or do we just do as we’re told? I asked. ‘Look at those mountains. Why can’t we just go there one day and walk along the valley floor, all the way to Afghanistan? I’d like to sleep in the poppy fields.’ 58 She does not want to do something that someone tells her to do, she wants to do what she thinks need to be done and what she really wants to do. Maryam also disagrees with the tradition of getting married with someone. She does not like women’s life being decided right after they were born in this world. She assumes that woman may choose the right man for them. She spoke first of Mairy, who at nineteen is three years older than me, and already has three noisy children by our cousin Reza. At her birth, Mairy was out on Reza’s knee as his future wife. I know this unusual, but I have always felt it must be a terrible thing to have your life decided moments after your first breath. 37 However, Maryam realizes that it is hard to change the tradition. She realizes that people should live along the tradition, but only for those which is made for good reason. She didn’t meet Sara eye. “Customs die hard here as elsewhere. Judgements are made for good reason and are difficult to change, however much time passes. They are the boundaries we must live within.” Her shoulders hunched in the cold. 255 32 Maryam states there are many types of freedom, but one thing for sure is that she believes money cannot give her the real freedom she wants. ‘Sometimes. But there are many types of freedom and each has its price: freedom to love, to travel, to belong. For each freedom we choose, we must give up another.’ ‘Your family was rich. They could afford your feedom.’ ‘I’m not sure. Some freedoms can be a gift of hate as much as love.’ Maryam felt the blood rise in her cheeks and remembered her father’s last words to her: She can go by herself…She is no daughter of mine. 133 Maryam also believes that each freedom she chooses has its price, means that every decision that she takes has its own risk, and Maryam chooses to be an independent person because she does not want her life being influenced by traditions.

4.2. Iranian Women’s Position Revealed in The Saffron Kitchen

The work of literature is the reflection of human life. Through the work of literature we can feel the beauty and the bitterness of life. The Saffron Kitchen which was written by Yasmin Crowther represents how an Iranian woman can make changes in her life through her actions. As Maryam’s mother said, “Iran is like you, Maryam, a beautiful virgin in the world, surrounded by suitors, and much may be won or lost in the choices that are made.” 68. This quotation highlights important points from the novel that Maryam, as the major character symbolizes how she represents Iranian women who are surrounded by men who want to make her become their bride. Iranian women do not have many choices because they have to choose a man to survive, “We cannot be alone in this world, we must choose one ally or another, one husband or another if we are to survive, 33 let alone prosper” 68. Iranian women believe that they have to live with their husband to survive. This condition leads them to accept any men who ask them to be their bride. However, Maryam believes that she can survive without those men, she also believes that she can choose the right man for her, not the men who ask her to be their wife. Maryam represents Iranian women who try to raise their position in the society. Iranian women are people who do not have many choices in their country. Moreover, as stated in The New Encyclopædia Britannica their real role is only as wives and mother. This condition occurs for decades and becomes tradition in their country, which makes them weak and can easily be controlled by men who have more power in their family. This role determines women’s position in society, which is reflected through the major character. There are women’s position in the family and women’s position in society.

4.2.1. Women’s Position in the Family

As stated in The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Iran is an Islamic country which has similar culture with those other Islamic countries. The major character, Maryam, grows in a strict Islamic culture which is presented by her family. This can be seen in Maryam speech, “‘I grew up in a religious city and my family was strict, it wasn’t easy to escape” 32. Based on this quotation, Maryam states that she lives in a strict Islamic family. She says that it is difficult for her to escape from this strict family. Even to take off her chador, she has to make sure that there is no stranger at home. Women may only take off their chador when they are in