The problem arises when women want to work but are not given the opportunity because their families are pressuring them to get married.

Specifically, many of the expectations come from Islamic dictates such as a “woman in Islam does not shoulder any financial obligations it is the man who shoulders this responsibility in the family” (“Financial rights for Women” n.p.). As a result, the novel effectively argues that in order for a community to thrive, the patriarchal system must change.Īs demonstrated in Crowther’s novel, women living in a traditional patriarchal society are limited by societal expectations about their roles in marriage. It is only after the father’s death, which symbolizes the death of patriarchal control for Maryam, that she is able to gain her voice and make positive changes for a future where women have more power. Specifically, Crowther illustrates how women are forced to be second-class citizens through the portrayal of Maryam’s unnamed father, who deliberately abuses his power as a wealthy businessman to control her. Crowther successfully reveals the problems that arise when one sex dominates another through her portrayal of the limitations that women face in their marriages, in their households, and how a women’s life purpose is defined. Set in the 1950’s under the leadership of Mohammad Mosaddegh, the novel exposes negative aspects of the patriarchal structure which are based on misinterpretations of the Qur’an (“History” n.p.). She grows up in Iran yearning for the freedom that she perceives women in the West have. In The Saffron Kitchen, by Yasmin Crowther, a Muslim woman named Maryam struggles to find a balance between her native Persian culture and her adopted British culture.

Carol Patrice Christ, a teacher at Yale University once said, “The mother must socialize her daughter to become subordinate to men, and if her daughter challenges patriarchal norms, the mother is likely to defend the patriarchal structures against her own daughters” (Christ n.p.).

The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther