The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther
Frustration and Conflict Poignant in Story of Family Culture Clash
Nov 21, 2008
Crowther, herself born to an Iranian mother and British father, vividly captures the difficulties one suffers when living in a particular country but having grown up with the traditions and memories of another.
The Saffron Kitchen begins with a family tragedy in England, which leads each member of the family to question his or her relationship with Maryam, mother of Sara, wife of Edward, and aunt to Saeed. After this incident, the reader senses Maryam's need to return to Iran, her childhood home, to reflect and understand herself. This places an enormous strain on her family in England, themselves struggling to know Maryam completely.
Before Maryam returns to Iran, the reader gets a solid glimpse at her childhood in Mazareh and Mashhad, while learning of the conflict that occurs when Maryam's free spirit collides with traditional Iranian society. Only when Sara goes to visit her mother in Iran does the frustration and confusion subside slowly to understanding.
Frequent Setting Change
As The Saffron Kitchen continues and Maryam goes to Iran while Sara, Edward, and Saeed remain in England, it becomes, at first, a struggle to follow abrupt setting changes. However, these rough transitions help the reader to ascertain how culturally, economically, linguistically, and geographically different life is in these two places and how these aspects affect Maryam.
In the middle of The Saffron Kitchen, the staggered images of Maryam in Iran and Sara in England show women in two different cultures that don't completely understad one another. This mirrors the sentiments of what it's like for someone who's grown up in one culture, but lives in a different one, belonging, but never feeling absolutely a whole part of either.
Strong Symbolism
Throughout The Saffron Kitchen, Crowther does not waste any story or detail that does not symbolize the frustrations of the family's struggles. She frames her book with a legend from Mazareh about a statue of a stone woman which represents a girl, whose only desire is to be free, and who is later imprisoned by an evil man.
This story relates to Maryam's adolescence, when she is faced with an arranged marriage proposition by her father and wants anything but to marry a stranger, and leads to her move to England.
The poem, "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold also makes quite a regular appearance in the book as it connects Maryam to her first love as an adolescent. A love that falsely shames and bans her from her family. She memorizes the poem and the words represent her loyalty to her father's servant, whom she never forgets, even after she marries Edward and has a family of her own.
Even the kitchen walls that Sara and Saeed paint saffron in Sara's English home show that although Maryam hurt them, her retreat to Iran has left an incredible mark on the family. Sara paints with saffron, the color of her mother, in an attempt to understand her actions.
Crowther takes a family brimming with tragedy, frustration, and deceit and guides the reader to understanding and beauty by presenting two vivid images of life in England and Iran, while bringing the story full circle with strong examples of symbolism.
Crowther, Yasmin. The Saffron Kitchen, 2006 Penguin Books, 257 pages. (ISBN # 978-0-670-038114)
