Sandpiper: Page Numbers
Sandpiper – Ahdaf Soueif (1994) Ahdaf Soueif was born in Cairo, Egypt, but she grew up in England. She married an Egyptian but it didn’t last long, and she later married the English poet Ian Hamilton –from whom she eventually separated as well. Her marriage experiences can be seen in Soueif's central themes. Her potent themes and far-flung settings make for deep reflection and reader interest. Characters: - Unnamed protagonist – blank narrator; fading love; disillusioned; displaced; lost; without solid purpose in life; alienated from new “place” (and daughter?); passive - Unnamed husband – no identity (removed out of bitterness, or because he is simply no longer her life’s ‘focus’?); unwillingly fading love; still cares - Lucy – new ‘focus,’ (therefore she gets a name?); torn between cultures Basic Plot: - Protagonist recounts (via narration and flashback) the generalities of her relationship to her now husband. This includes their early relationship (characterized by pure love, excitement of ‘foreignness’ and innocence), the decision to marry (supposed realization that he is the most important thing in her life via near death experience, also that he becomes her ‘reason to live’ (she writes for him, collects stories for him, etc) and – somewhat – vice versa), decision for children (penultimate expression of her love for him) and the slow breakdown of their relationship (drifting apart because of ‘practical’ differences and a waning of original emotions. The focus/ ‘reason for living’ shifts to Lucy). The exterior relationship begins to fall apart as she searches for her place in the world – this is something that shifts from Man to Lucy, but neither of these things are true purposes, just passing ones. - A summer afternoon spent at a beach-house is rather inconsequential; therefore, deduce that the actions of our characters, since they do not contribute to the plot, are actually reflections of their personality. - Narrative structure includes disconcerting