When the Apricots Bloom

Rania and Huda grow closer as Huda finally hears Rania’s explanation of what happened regarding Mustafa and Ali’s deaths. The focus of their conflict shifts from a betrayal between two women to a common enemy of male interference. As shocked as Huda might be about Rania and Mustafa’s brief affair, the real culprit of Mustafa’s death is the former sheikh, Rania’s father, who could have saved Huda’s brothers and chose not to for the sake of “honor.” The existing structures of male religious authority are thus called into question in the context of Khalid’s conversation with the cleric, as well as with his growing interest in religion. So far in the narrative, both religion and male control have been shown as detriments to the freedom and happiness of the main characters, and Khalid’s interest in religious matters reflects the pull of religion in the face of adversity. Similarly, when the sheikh was placed in the position of choosing who to save from execution after the rebellion, his instinct, too, was to fall back on religious values and execute Huda’s brothers, even though it was not a moral decision. Now, Khalid feels the threat of the mukhabarat to his family, and he, too, is moving toward religion in response. In this way, the character of Khalid also transforms into a threat, much like the sheikh and the cleric, and his new philosophical leanings cause Huda’s concern for him to increase drastically. Thus, these chapters show Rania and Huda’s decision to finally unite in the common cause of protecting their families, but, so far, they view Ally as a necessary sacrifice to achieve their mutual goal.

Although the two women regard Ally as expendable at this point in the novel, these chapters also show that Huda is developing a growing affection for Ally just as Ally begins to realize that she may need to distance herself from her friendship with Huda. The fact that Ally lies to Huda shows that Ally may not trust Huda as much as Huda previously thought, but the discussion regarding Tom’s sexual performance brings the women closer together as women in a context separate from the politics and intrigue that dominate their everyday lives. Although Ally resolves to put distance between herself and Huda, she still helps Huda by telling her where she saw Khalid, mirroring the common cause of Rania and Huda’s relationship, in which the women understand the mutual need to protect their children from danger. Ally may not have children of her own, but she still displays a camaraderie with Huda’s need to protect Khalid. In addition, both women are faced with the challenge of their chronically absent husbands, with Tom out on business in Ally’s time of need during the amnesty, and Abdul Amir’s drunken irritation with Huda’s efforts to secure the house. Abdul Amir is absent as Ally spends the night at Huda’s home, and the women have the opportunity to bond a bit more. Although Ally later decides to draw away from Huda, Huda is clearly growing closer to Ally, as reflected in her emotional hug when Ally leaves the following morning.

The sexual nature of the mukhabarat’s hatred for Ally comes out as Huda tells Abu Issa and the Bolt Cutter about Tom’s impotence. The men are so amused that they need to pause on the sidewalk to continue talking about it. However, the crucial event regarding this sexism is Huda’s use of masculinity to combat the lewd comments. Huda utilizes the skills she gained when hunting and fishing with her brothers and takes up a common yard tool as a spear, secretly stabbing the hornet’s nest to get the mukhabarat to leave. Mustafa may have viewed the use of a spear as manly, but Huda subverts that gendered expectation by taking up the spear against her male oppressors. This strike is also the first time that any of the characters take physical measures, however indirect, to force out the mukhabarat. Thus, Huda’s actions succeed in cutting short the lewd discussion between Abu Issa and the Bolt Cutter. In this context, the hornet’s nest symbolizes the general discontent of the Iraqi people, and Huda’s subversion of gendered expectations becomes the efforts of both her own, Ally’s, and Rania’s efforts to escape the rule of Saddam Hussein’s regime. The speared nest foreshadows the ability to avoid direct violence and still escape the government’s rules; Huda does not directly attack the men, preferring instead to use existing structures like the nest to her advantage.