The nameless hero
The irony of Joonam's identity is clarified by the reader's knowledge that Joonam is only a pet name, a nickname given by her mother. Joonam means something like "sweetie" or "dear one." The protagonist is actually nameless strictly speaking. This is ironic because the heroic nature of the novel makes the reader want to assign honor to the hero, but without a name, the merit goes toward whoever that character represents. The ironic namelessness makes the reader aware that the protagonist's journey is actually an abstract representation of what millions or billions of people might experience.
Culture as the obstacle
One should think that if the claims of misogyny were true that women would be naturally inferior, but the novel shows that the women in this community have to accomplish more excellence and mastery in order to hurdle the obstacles which arise because of closed-minded village people and their legalistic obedience to tradition. Ironically, the only reason that women are hindered is that culturally they are chronically under-represented and disenfranchised from opportunity. That is Joonam's experience.
The mother's suffering
The novel isolates a painful irony of the young person's life. Instead of suffering for one's own mistakes, Joonam's mother is often the one who suffers most when Joonam makes mistakes. That ironic dislocation of consequence raises symbolic questions: Is it Joonam's responsibility to take care of her mother? In that case, Joonam's love begins to be the source for her hard work, because she is motivated to provide for the most sacred person of all her life; her mother. The suffering is a symbol for sacrifice.
Gostaham's perfectionism
Gostaham's character is a dual person. He can be seen as a symbol for the gods because he is sometimes capricious, and his perfectionism is the bane of Joonam's existence. She wants his mercy, but by her kicking against the goads, Gostaham's perfectionism brings Joonam a taste for perfection and mastery, as well as fueling an important fire of anger within her which makes her deliberate and executive. He is a sign for the painful way that life ironically pushes hard workers to points of crisis for their eventual transformation.
The ending
The story ends with a position of power given to the protagonist. That is a happy ending to a story that has never seemed to be leading toward a happy ending. That means that the ending is a reflection on the mystical omen that Joonam witnesses. The question raised by that comet was this: Is that a good message from the gods or a message of doom and punishment? She naturally feels it is punishment, but when she survives her fate, she is both a hero and an accomplished master of a craft.
The Narrator Begged Forgiveness for Being Bold
People are often encouraged to be bold and to believe in themselves. In the 17th century Iran, women were supposed to be timid. From the modern perspective, it would be ironic for a woman to plead for forgiveness due to her boldness. Apparently, in Persian society, it was then the norm for women to eat the humble pie at all times, even when they had done no wrong. Therefore, upon realizing that she acted in impulse, the narrator ‘begged forgiveness for being so bold’ (p. 8).
Gostaham’s Irony- “No one touches my pen without my permission!”
Gostaham angrily reprimanded the narrator for touching his pen. Incidentally, the girl had taken Gostaham’s pen and used it to sketch her necklace. The girl’s actions upset the master. Ironically, Gostaham is captivated by the girl’s design and makes it his own, improving it to a better one. He later compliments the girl for awesome work done, “good work on the sketches,” (p. 8). However; he still insisted that the girl was never to touch his pen. Notably, the same sketch culminated in being a masterpiece that made Fereydoon awestruck. Upon setting his eyes on it, Fereydoon quipped candidly “It’s so delicate, just like my girl” (p. 8).
The Irony of Making the Indigo Dye
Gostaham took the narrator to one of the sites where the pundits made the different dyes and commissioned them for application in fresh designs of rugs. Astonishingly, making the indigo dye started with dipping a “bag of dried yellow larkspur flowers” (p. 8). The skein undergoes kaleidoscopic transformations of different hues. The wool skein turns into orange color, then green while the dye makers wait confidently. The narrator wondered verbally why they were not adding the indigo. At that juncture, Gostaham and Jahanshah started to laugh. The narrator’s naivety elicited the laughter; they were never going to add any indigo. She was dumbfounded by the array of transformations that happened to the skein. It turned, pale emerald, then blue-green and deeper.
The Irony of Father Turning Against His Son (Folk-Lore)
The bride was convinced that her maidservant had an affair with her father the master. She was worried that the maidservant would lie to the master about her conspiring with an aide. She believed that her father would buy into the lies and have her banished and killed. When the Prince returned to the father’s place a married man, the Shah invited him to a special dinner in the palace, but the Shah’s motives were sinister. The prince’s first wife, the warrior woman, was not pleased that her husband had come home with a bride. Nonetheless, she did not have any grudges. She magnanimously warned the prince about his father’s hideous plans. The warrior woman advised the prince to be cautious about the food served to him in the palace. The prince heeded the advice and gave the food to the family cat which died immediately. The father intended to keep the warrior woman as his wife and he organized to have her son’s eyes gouged out and to be released in the desert sightless.
The Irony of Naheed Blaming the Narrator for her Misbehavior
Naheed always sought the narrator’s company when going to the polo game where she met her secret suitor, Iskandar. The narrator is struck by her mistress after returning home from one of their escapades. Naheed had persuaded her, and she gave in despite wishing to stay home and take care of her chores. Naheed's persuasiveness and ingenuity won; she bribed Shamsi, the mistress’ daughter with paltry coins to stand in for her friend. Later, the narrator realized the slight betrayal through Ludmilla who divulged to her “Naheed told me how much you love polo and how often you beg her to go to the games. That is very selfish of you. I hope you understand the disruptiveness of your actions” (p. 10). It is ironic for Naheed to blame her friend for her wild behavior. Everyone was convinced, even her mother. She was upset, hit her, and reprimanded “Why did you do such a thoughtless thing?”
The Irony of Naheed’s Confinement
Naheed’s parents prohibited her from going to watch polo matches. Such behavior was considered outlandish and careless for an unmarried teenage Iranian girl. Naheed liked polo, but the main reason for going to the game had been to meet his lover, Iskandar, and deliver love messages. It seems that the confinement only denied her the chance to watch the game, and watch her lover play because she found an alternative. She commissioned the fortune-telling woman (Kobra) to take the messages to Iskandar. None of the elders, apart from Kobra, knew that Naheed had already found a boyfriend, and intended to overrule her parents' plans about any planned marriage for her.
Gordiye believed that the Narrator’s destruction of her rug was planned and intentionally meant ruin the family. In contrast, the narrator only unknotted the rug because she thought the colors were not good. Gordiye was angry about so much wool being wasted in making the unprofitable rug. She complained to her husband, “we take them in, and they try to ruin us! Why? Why has God put this burden on us?” (p. 10).
The Irony of Sigheh (Temporary marriage)
Whereas the normal marriages were celebrated, in the villages and also in the city, the narrator’s temporary marriage was to be kept a secret. The narrator’s hosts, uncle Gostaham’s family, were in a class that would not be proud about temporary marriage. The marriage was to end after three months, and it was about a contract. There were no celebrations or rituals, only transactions. The narrator was taken to the hammam to be bathed and preened for the meeting with her temporary husband (Fereydoon). The hammam operator remarked after scrubbing the bride, “hair and henna, it’s as if you’re getting married!” She was clueless about the planned marriage. The narrator was sworn to secrecy and she responded “you’d be the first to know about it, Homa-Joon!” (p. 13).
