Continuing on from page 59 in “Season of Migration to the North”, “Effendi” our narrator reverts back to describing in detail how his grandfather’s behaviors and memories have been instilled in him. Everything down to the scents around him, his constant praying, even his pray beads and how he constantly plays with them. These descriptions bring me back to a discussion we had in class about how even though one may die, their legacy still lives on in you through memories, and so forth.
I was quite surprised to read about the grandfather and his elderly friends discuss their intimacies with one another so loosely, being a part of such a conservative culture that frowns upon “uncircumcised European” women; especially since these discussions also took place in front of a lady and a grandson.
We do get a better understanding on how their culture works as far as divorcees and widows are concerned. It becomes clearer that it is quite common for a brother or a cousin to take on a deceased husband’s wife and children to “better care for them and treat them well”. Being that the “effendi” is technically in charge of Mustafa’s wife, one of the grandfather’s friends would like to ask for her hand in marriage, yet this proposal infuriates him! Could it be because he feels ashamed that a man 40 years her senior wants her hand? Maybe it’s because he wants to swoop in and marry her to care for her and the children in order to carry out a promise to Mustafa? I guess we’ll just have to keep reading to find out!