How does Amineh's guilt over her parents' death shape her actions?

How does Amineh's guilt over her parents' death shape her vision of the world or her actions, in your opinion? What other characters experience loss in the novel? Does guilt enter into their experience? How does the loss change them?

Amineh's guilt over her parents' death (really unwarranted) affected her attitude to life in general. She shouldered blame for almost every bad thing that happened to anyone close to her. Tish turned her into a whiny, ineffective person, lacking in self-confidence and motivation and unwilling to put herself out there for fear of the consequences to herself and others. I found her to be a very unappealing character except when she was in the kitchen.

Amineh bore a burden of guilt she didn't need to, but the guilt came at an age where she was very young and impressionable. Plus, she loved her parents greatly, so their deaths were devastating. I think this guilt also affected her ability to connect to people effectively. In fairness to Amineh, there was no one she could talk to about her feelings; certainly her grandmother was not going to help ease this girl's broken heart. Amineh suffered in silence and her lack of confidence came from this I believe.

Yes, I agree with Laura and Janine. Poor Amineh who never understood the cause of the accident that killed her parents suffered most of her life with the burden of thinking that she was the cause of the accident. It seemed a bit strange that this story had never come out sooner. I suppose it works to set up the guilt that Amineh seems to carry throughout.

I concur what Laurap wrote. I actually began to dislike Amineh. She never seems sure of herself and is always afraid of doing the wrong thing. She feels like if she cannot control her life, bad things will happen. And I think the guilt she feels for loving Patrick even though she is not happy with her husband makes her question her upbringing in general. She only feels she SHOULD be happy with her husband, because it's the right thing to do.

I know Amineh felt guilty about her parents’ accident and subsequent deaths, but I’m not sure how much that contributed to her future persona. Probably somewhat, but as a woman in that culture and at that time, I think she still would have suffered from a lack of self esteem. And she was very young when she married Farzad, and he was older and self assured, so I think helped keep her in her shell.

I agree with Juliep
Amineh was burdened with guilt her entire life, perhaps she never felt worthy of happiness. She accepted her lot in life. She had a moment of expectation, on her wedding night, and those hopes were dashed as well. However, the culture and time period did not concern itself with happiness or self esteem for women. I think in her young girl’s mind, her parents had true happiness and she thought that could happen for her. I guess I am skeptical

Amineh had the guilt from learning about her parents' death and her grandmother just reinforced this guilt and took it a step further - telling Amineh (and everyone else) that Amineh was the cause of losing her son.

This made Amineh a very cautious person that did not believe that she deserved happiness and was too grateful when showed her interest.

Losing your parents, being blamed (and blaming yourself) for that loss, at such a young age—that is a life-defining experience. In addition, her society placed expectations on women that did not encourage them to look beyond the family, as children or as adults. Without valuing herself, she tries to seek that in her marriage, but lacks the confidence to advocate for herself, so she just accepts the roles expected of her. But in time, she does begin to move out of herself, and to discover her own worth. It is a long process, helped by her loving nature, her children and her friends, and Farzad is at least a friend, even if not as intimate as she hoped. But only Amineh can free herself.

what a horrible grandmother to make Amineh feel so much guilt and responsibility for her parents death. So much to shoulder as a young child, and it stayed with her throughout her life. She blamed herself for every death, Farzads sister, and really anything bad that came along. That guilt along with her culture, left her with very little self confidence her whole life.