The ironic work of marriage
This novel demonstrates the difficulty of marriage by showing a young couple trying to establish a safe and enjoyable home where they could have children and raise them. This process ends up being more difficult than they might have hoped. The work entailed in marriage is shown through the literal repair of a home (which is ironic in a synchronous way; it is unexpected because it is almost too perfect). The marriage is established as the couple works together to accept new levels of responsibility hitherto unknown to either of them.
The drama of the task
The family knows they will have to work to repair their mansion in Morocco, dubbed "Dar Khalifa," The Caliph's House. Their decision to live there is a symbol of dominion because of the regal estate and the name of the property. The couple decides they are up for the task of nobility, and they accept the home. Then they realize the dramatic irony of how much work the home really entails. This home ends up being a real money pit, and the process of getting to know the estate is a never-ending list of new problems that will need to eventually be addressed.
The community
As if to signify what it is like to become married people in a community, the couple realizes that they have also inherited servants with the estate according to local custom. The estate comes with opinionated and chronically deprived people who could become assets to the property if they are interacted with appropriately. Another level of irony here is that the couple has to work together to decide how they will relate to people. That process is also affected by marriage.
The spirits
Jinn are folkloric spirit personalities who are often very mischievous and capricious. They are like Greek furies, except they are more like terrible neighbors than literal demons. In any case, they make raising a family nearly impossible, and children are traditionally thought to be specifically prone to their mischief. Therefore, Tahir Shah undertakes a new role in his marriage and home that he did not expect. He becomes the priest of his home by accepting responsibility for the spiritual health of his home. He exorcises the jinn from his domain and stakes a claim for the dominion of his marriage.
The beauty of Morocco
The imagery of Morocco is what enticed Shah to move there, but when he chose Morocco for him and his new wife, he had the tropical paradise in mind, not the reality of the situation. This irony is a subtle commentary on marriage in the first place. People want to be married to someone they love because they have ideas about what that will be like. It's easy to see beaches, bars, and palm trees without calculating the real difficulties of establishing a home, preparing the marriage and home for children, and living in community with new people.
