Sara and Saeed form a strong connection with one another. Was there any good in this man? Was he a product of his time and traditions? What makes a man like Maryam’s father turn out the way he does in contrast with a man like Doctor Ahlavi? “Your father was kind to us before his death,” Hassan tells Maryam upon her return. What is the moral of the Gossemarbart story and how does it relate to Maryam’s own story? Discuss the symbolism of the stone woman and its significance in the novel. When Maryam returns home after taking Sara to the hospital, she says to herself, “I should never have left.” What is she referring to? The hospital? Iran? And what does she mean by this? How does her statement foreshadow what happens in the rest of the novel? What does he represent to her? Why do you think some abused people grow up to continue that abuse, while others vow never to repeat the “sins of their fathers”? Do you believe this? Why or why not? Discuss the reasons you think Maryam feels so angry at Saeed. Maryam says she hits Saeed to make him strong, just as her own father hit her as a girl.
What issues did The Saffron Kitchen bring up for you, and did it change or influence your idea of Iran in any way? The Middle East is very much in the news these days, and perhaps never before has it been more on the mind of Westerners.
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