From Dependence to Independence

Abstract: Brick Lane is a novel written by Monica Ali in 2003， which won Ali-wide fame. Brick Lane is about characters that have depth and reality， who change and learn who share genuine feelings， which can be seen as a story about female Bildungsroman.

Key Words: Nazneen; growth

Brick lane is a novel written by Monica Ali in 2003， which tells a story about Muslim immigrant culture in London， most specifically that of Nazneen and her family. The novel depicts instances of great bravery and fear， oppression and struggle for independence， especially， a story about a women’s grown-up and consciousness awareness. No matter the plot of Brick Lane or the narration order even the letters between Nazneen and her sister-Hasina， the story of the Brick Lane can be seen as a female Bildungsroman .

Nazneen has been the \"good daughter\" in her family， the daughter who accepted the marriage her father arranged for her after the death of her mother. She， as a young bride married at sixteen to a 40-year-old man， is wrenched from the only life she has ever known in the countryside of Bangladesh and conveyed to England， where her new husband， Chanu， has a job. Taught from the day of her birth that \"fighting against one's Fate can weaken the blood，\" or even be fatal， she accepts the miserably lonely existence fate has bestowed on her in a London council flat.

Nazneen is not a finished person when she arrives in London as a bride for Chanu， and so it makes sense that Ali's prose style is， until that point， rather naive. But Nazneen is eager to grow up and Ali's prose grows with her， gaining in depth and complexity， gradually creating a compellingly subtle fictional world as Nazneen struggles to make a life for herself within her traditional marriage and the East End immigrant community. Nazneen’s growth mainly embodied in these four stages:the different attitude towards the health of their child.( Nazneen and her mother)， going outside and finding a job， and having a love affairs with Karim， deciding to stay in London.

The first time we can find something changing in Nazneen is the birth of her son. At the very beginning of the story， the concept – “predestination” is Nazneen’s attitude to her fate. Such as some outlooks on life pass down from her mother: “fighting against one’s fate can weaken the blood”， “How You Were Left To Your Fate”， “What could not be changed， must be borne.”The first growth: the concept “predestination” is not throughout the whole story. Nazneen gradually and bravely abandons her fate. Initially she rebels against it by taking her son， Raqib， to the hospital when he falls ill. This action is one of the ways in which she contrasts her own mother， who left Nazneen to ‘her fate’ many years earlier. Nazneen therefore takes ‘fate’ in her own hands in an attempt to save her son from death. It is said that Raqib would have died had Nazneen not taken him to the hospital: “The doctors said it. It was no lie”. Nazneen begin to rebel against the very religious role of predestination which is prevalent in Bangladesh. Rebelling against the concept of fate puts Nazneen’s life back into her own hands， and liberates her from one of the oppressive roles that religion can serve.

Nazneen， for the very first time， defies her husband in an attempt to break free from the isolation， on which her dependency on chanu is formed， by going outside. As Nazneen gets lost and is overcome with dismay， she pictures the relation between a waiter and his wife; a relation which as a vivid reminder of her own place， as a wife， in society: “But now the waiters were at home asleep， or awake being waited on themselves by wives who only served and were not served in return except with board and lodging and the provision of children whom they also， naturally， waited upon.” She breaks the bonds of convention bravely. Because in the Muslim culture， A man to be sufficently masculine needs women dependent on him. Wives are， defined by the treatment of men， not individuals of worth but commodities to be discarded or traded away at the blink of an eye. Marriage is just like a trade， wife receives food and shelter and they are obligated service to their family. While， Nazneen maybe cannot tell us in what aspects she has changed， but indeed she makes progresses in becoming a complete person. What’s more， some changes happened in her life. Starting to work with a sewing machine at home is a remarkable turning point in Hazneen’ life， she has the ablility to earn money for her family， and shoulder the burden from her family’s finance crisis bravely. When she begins， unaccompanied by Chanu， to attend meetings of a group of young activists who are trying to defend their culture from bigotry and attacks in the wake of September 11， it is a huge decision for her. Her decision to shave her legs is fraught with symbolic significance. while， all of these critical time， Nazneen’s deeds can be treated as finding her own identity and self-consciousness.

At the heart of the book lies a marvellous depiction of an adulterous affair. As a good Bengali wife， Nazneen does not enter lightly into her sexual adventure， and her lover， Karim， a fierce young Muslim who wants to radicalize the local community， has deeply held beliefs against promiscuity. But as Karim comes to Nazneen’s house day after day， bringing her the piecework for her sewing job， Ali shows how the physical attraction that explodes between destroys their moral expectations. She captures all the little details of karim’s attractiveness to Nazneen， from the citrus scent of his shirts to his eager energy when discussing politics， until， long before their first kiss， you have been convinced by a sense of absolutely inexorable desire. We can find a real Nazneen in this story totally is her love affair with Karim. In the Muslim tradition， this kind of love affair- Adultery is considered as shameful and illegal in many countries. However， our protagonist Nazneen pours all her love， energy and enthusiasm into this second Bangladeshi generation young man. She knows what she is doing is totally against the doctrine from her culture but she plucks up all her courage to experience the sexual adventure and has an idea of what is love.

Approaching the end of the story， Chanu chooses to go back home，while， Nazneen firmly options to stay in London with her two children. With her decision of staying in London， her new life is coming. In the last line of the novel， we see the possible of assimilation in the Muslim immigrant of culture. Nazneen partakes in an activity which has represented female independence throughout the novel –ice skating wearing a sari. Now， she is reborn in London and becomes a complete human being.

Through all these tiny， seemingly insignificant decisions， Nazneen's life in all its mundane details， shows her acceptance of a new culture or growth. At this time， she becomes a finished person or complete person with her own awareness. The path of Nazneen’s grown-up is full of religion conflict， culture conflict， and emotional conflict. Growing up must be suffering a hardship period， and then the life people live are more meaningful and valuable. The story shows， step by inevitable step， just how this process evolves， creating a vibrant portrait of a family in transition and of a woman coming into her own.

References：

[1]Ali， Monica. Brick Lane. Simon and Schuster， 2003.

[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Ali