Summary
The narrator describes the effects of shame on a particular Pakistani immigrant family, in which a father murders his daughter for having a sexual relationship with a British man. The narrator notes that the father is driven to kill his daughter by an overwhelming sense of shame. He then returns to the main storyline and says that Karachi had grown significantly over time. Raza returns to Karachi and the narrator notes that his reputation had fallen off in recent years.
Sufiya suffers a great deal during this time, blushing constantly as she is constantly receiving indications that she should feel shame. Her reactions become stronger as her blushing grows more and more intense. At the same time, Iskander starts to feel pressure to maintain a more dignified public image. He gives up a number of things, including bear fights, dancing, and his friendship with Omar. Iskander's daughter, Arjumand, idolizes him and experiences feelings of intense antipathy towards both Omar and her mother, Rani. Raza has a second daughter with Bilquìs named Naveed. They nickname her "Good News," as she is born without any illnesses.
Omar continues to work as an immunologist during the day and pursue debauchery in the evenings. Omar goes home to Nishapur, after learning that his brother Babar is dead. Following a bombing, Babar became involved in revolutionary activities. He spent the evening after the bombing talking to people at a bar and gradually became more and more passionate about rebelling against the political status quo. He traveled to the mountains with a militia group and was eventually killed.
It is noted that he became angelic prior to his death and that his body gave off a yellow sheen at the time of his demise. The body is returned to the family with a letter that informs Babar's three mothers that it is only out of respect for their family name that no harm has come to them for his rebel actions. Omar has an attack of vertigo following this revelation and later returns to work. The narrator notes that almost immediately after this he fell in love with Sufiya.
The narrator describes the strained relationship between Sufiya and Good News, as Good News dislikes Sufiya immensely. The narrator also describes a beast growing inside of Sufiya that is nourished by the shame of the world around her. This beast eventually takes her over and makes her kill a number of turkeys in the yard by decapitating them, much to everyone's shock and surprise. Omar is called to treat Sufiya and subsequently falls in love with her.
The next section begins with a description of Haroun, the son of Iskander, and his lack of tact and sensitivity. He frequently holds forth in his college classes and talks about his father, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he shouldn't say too much about their family. An unflattering Newsweek article is published, much to everyone's irritation and concern. The narrative then moves on to depicting Iskander's rise to power and he focuses on remaking his image. Iskander takes advantage of the declining popularity of the current prime minister and forms a counterparty. He reaches out to people all over the country, railing against political corruption and greed.
Good News is courted by Haroun and discusses marriage with her mother, Bilquìs. She plans to marry him. At the same time, Arjumand attempts to begin her political career by trying to suppress her feminine appearance with baggy clothing and short hair. She never marries. Omar falls further and further in love with Sufiya and asks Raza for her hand in marriage. At the last minute, Good News changes her mind and reveals that she plans to marry Talvar Ulhaq, a military man. Her parents initially are angry, but eventually they accept her decision. At the wedding Sufiya attacks Talvar, nearly ripping his head from his body. She is narrowly stopped from killing him. Omar and Sufiya are subsequently married in a quiet ceremony.
Analysis
Shame continues to play a central role in these chapters. As Sufiya's story continues, the shame that is pushed upon her grows increasingly intense. This accumulation makes her engage in frightening behavior, as the narrator shows the increasing harm caused by her condition. Her blushing becomes violently hot. These instances become so bad that they require a salve to be applied to her skin after. The narrator subsequently notes that she appears to be harboring a beast within her. This leads to a disturbing incident in which Sufiya beheads a number of turkeys on their estate. Everyone is shocked and she is immediately sent for treatment. What Rushdie seems to demonstrate with this escalation is that the unearned shame that is being forced on Sufiya for being ill is building up into an unconscious, violent force within her. She is filled with shame that she cannot comprehend and has no outlet to express, so it builds and builds.
Similarly, this violence continues to escalate at Good News's wedding and the narrator suggests again that shame is instigating this violence. During the reception, Sufiya's eyes glaze over and she leaps across the table and viciously attacks Talvar, almost tearing his head off his body. It takes several people to remove her from him and leaves him unable to move his head properly for the rest of his life, ending his time as a polo player. Sufiya does this under the influence of the beast within her. Otherwise, she is described as being kind and sweet. She bears no conscious bad feelings towards Talvar. The narrator says that the beast has continued to grow stronger within her, as her family's shame continues to move through her. In this way, Rushdie reveals how shame acts as a powder keg in the novel, perpetually setting up bigger and bigger explosions.
What her actions indicate is the sense of shame surrounding this wedding. Good News was previously supposed to marry Haroun Harappa, but changed her mind when she fell in love with Talvar. This creates a number of issues as Haroun is Iskander's son and their marriage would have been politically expedient. As a result, both Raza and Bilquìs are deeply ashamed of this wedding and the expression of this comes through in Sufiya. These feelings are so intense that they require an outlet, which takes the form of the attack. Sufiya acts as a conduit for the shame that surrounds her, revealing the danger of not processing or dealing with these emotions. In attempting to suppress their shame for the sake of propriety, the Hyders only cause more violence. The particular tragedy of Sufiya's condition is that she, unlike almost any other character in the novel, has no real self-interest. She never commits acts that might cause her shame like infidelity or violence; instead her innocence makes her a kind of blank slate that absorbs other people's guilt and shame.
This part of the book starts to deal more directly with dictatorships and political power. The narrator begins to describe Iskander's stealthy ascent to power. Iskander is very charismatic and starts rallying people against the declining leadership of Marshall A. He spends his time fiercely criticizing the wealthy, which is a successful technique. He also gives up various pleasurable activities that might tarnish his image, such as attending various animal fights and dancing to disco music. Most notably, he turns his back on Omar, who he decides is a liability for this newly constructed image. In this way, Rushdie explores how dictators begin their ascent to power. While Iskander is not a working-class or honorable man, by creating the impression that he is, he is better able to garner the sympathy of the people of his country. His maneuvering reveals the insidious way in which dictators construct a sympathetic image in order to gain popular support and overthrow a regime. His background, and later actions, show exactly how false this image is, as he is vain, cruel, and selfish, but conceals this effectively with his charm.
The oppression of women is another significant theme in this part of the narrative. Iskander's daughter Arjumand holds her father in high esteem and wants to be exactly like him. She has major political aspirations and refuses to let being a woman get in the way of them. She receives the nickname "Virgin Ironpants" because she refuses to get married. She also tries to dress in a way that does not draw attention to her feminine appearance. Her part of the story reveals the way in which women are severely limited in the social world of the book. Where unremarkable men, like Haroun and Talvar, can attain status without almost any effort, Arjumand is forced to consciously craft her image and suppress her femininity to get political influence.
