This pattern begins with his uncle, then with Mrs. Iqbal, a teacher at his boarding school who offers comfort to Firdaus when she cries. Firdaus soon becomes almost obsessed with Mrs. Iqbal and it is evident that she admires him greatly, saying that when she held Mrs. Iqbal's hand she felt "her body tremble with a deep, distant pleasure" (30), showing that Firdaus' abuses have not changed. This did not cause an aversion to relationships or trusting people, but rather caused her to feel so insignificant that even a small amount of attention or tenderness from someone can make her feel adoration towards him. Shortly after returning from boarding school, Firdaus listens as her uncle and his wife talk about their plan to marry her off to an old man named Sheikh Mahmoud, and then about her uncle raping his wife. The next morning, Firdaus tries to escape her uncle's plans for her but is frightened by the look of a man in the street and returns. This is the first of a long escape attempt from Firdaus and the beginning of a general pattern. When married to Sheikh Mahmoud, a disgusting and violent man, Firdaus states that every time after he touches her, she slips to the bathroom and washes every part of his body "by passing several times with soap and water. (46); it's desperate