Themes
There are four evident themes in chapter sixteen of the novel.
Remorse- Said feels remorse as he feels responsible for Nur’s disappearance through out the chapter. He continually asks rhetorical questions to make sense of the situation at hand. Said knows that he had never given Nur the “sincere emotional relationship” (261) that she longed for.
Despair and loneliness- Said loses hope that Nur will return, “Emotions and instincts told him… that he would never see Nur again,” (264), “a woman… adrift on a sea of waves of either indifferent or hostile,”(265) and as a result he becomes consumed by an overwhelming sense of loneliness, “When [Said] was with other his stature seemed… giantlike: he had a talent for friendship, leadership, even heroism. Without all that there was simply no spice to life… he really did not like being alone.”(263)
Realisation- It is the mental journey this chapter takes Said on, that awakens him to the feelings he has towards Nur, “the terrible depression he felt made him aware that [Nur] had penetrated much deeper within him, and that she should never have been separated from this life of his which was shreds and tottering on the brink of an abyss.”(264) Said also comes to the realisation that there is nothing he can hide from, “circumstances were after him”(265) and the best thing for him to do is to, “get out as soon as he possible could.”(265)
Tags: despair, disappearance, loneliness, Nur, realisation, remorse, Said
