Female Kinship
The women of the harem become Fernea's community. At times, they are the only people with whom she's allowed to commune, so they become her family as well. They are a tight-knit group of women who look after one another financially, emotionally, and even politically. Although their freedom is limited, these women have cultivated great joy within their community of women. By welcoming Fernea into their ranks, they demonstrate the foundation of their kinship: female solidarity. They stand with one another because they are women and because the men have their own social sphere, almost entirely separate. Because the women are segregated with each other, they embrace each other like family, extending this devotion even to a stranger who is subject to the same restrictions.
Isolation
When Fernea first agrees to move to Iraq, she is terrified of living in a foreign country. She knows nothing about the culture or the language and experiences a huge culture shock when she arrives. Not only do they live in a rural community devoid of all modern technology, but Fernea is not allowed to spend much time with her husband. She's given foreign clothes to wear. She must adapt to a diet which does not agree with her at first. Largely, she's left on her own to discover ways to survive, since she cannot rely upon her husband's companionship. Without speaking the language, Fernea experiences a season of depression because she is so isolated from everyone around her and everything familiar about her life in the States. Being determined to succeeded in her role as helper, however, Fernea determines both to learn the language and customs as well as to ingratiate herself into the community. She does not remain alone for long.
Ethnography
Although Fernea has no experience in ethnography, she makes her best attempt at participating in the process. Her book contains detailed observations from the year she spent in Iraq. She keeps a daily record of things she's learned and any noteworthy experiences. In this way, she is able to fill her husband in on the activities of the women and their daily lives because, otherwise, he would have no access to this information, the women remaining entirely separate from the men most of the time. Fernea keeps detailed accounts of her observations. Her narrative makes up for any ignorance to the field of ethnography with a genuine enthusiasm for learning about this culture. In the end, her hard work pays off because Fernea went on to become an accomplished ethnographer who worked around the world, with a focus on Africa and the Middle East.
