Analyse the use of the child narrator in Chughtai’s ‘Lihaf’(The Quilt).700-750
Answers
The story proceeds with the perspective of a small, innocent girl, and deals with certain themes considered "obscene." However, due to the age of the narrator, these themes manifest themselves subtly and the story is merely suggestive.
The young girl is the niece of an important character in the story, namely Begum Jan. While the story is told from the point of view of the niece, it is essentially about the life of Begum Jan, who is caught up in domestic drudgery and is a victim of patriarchal oppression within the setup of her household.
There is a substantial age difference between the begum and her husband, the Nawab. The husband commands much respect for a number of reasons, among which, one is the fact that he has a reputation for not visiting prostitutes. However, it is subtly revealed that this may be because of his sexual orientation.
The lonely Begum is "installed" in one corner of the house and left to live a meaningless life. However, things change with Rabbo's entrance. Rabbo is the Begum's masseuse and companion. Every night, quite a few secrets lie under the quilt, which symbolizes oppression in the context of this story.