How do you think growing up in Qamsar's rose farms shapes Amineh?

The desert village, Qamsar, where Amineh spent her childhood, has long been known for rose oil production. How do you think growing up in this setting shapes Amineh and impacts her life as an adult? In what ways did you see location playing a role as the story progresses?

I think Amineh has lived in a fishbowl which surprises me because of the country and area she lives in. Until she meets Farzad, she really had not gotten involved in politics. She would humor her friend but not actually do something she believed in.
The rose farm is beautiful and smells wonderful and she has many fond memories growing up there. Being with her mother a lot, she picks up the love of cooking.

I think Amineh was a bit sheltered and didn't realize the lack of respect she would have once she left home.

Amineh in a rural area which concentrated on growing roses and her family's life revolved around the cycle of producing rose oil which was shipped to other places.
She lived a comfortable life in the midst of nature.
When she gets to the university she was thrust into this word of protests and calling for change she did not know existed.
Not really wanted to participate in these student protests and then she meets her husband who while no longer a student was involved in activism.

Amineh never really got a chance to fully understand what was going as she had to concentrate on being a wife and those expectations.

Growing up in that setting may have helped her to appreciate her senses more. Maybe she became interested in cooking because of this? But I agree that it was a ideal, protective setting for her, and she wasn’t prepared for the world of politics that she married into.

Aminech was a product of the time - sheltered but traumatized, holding onto the ideals of her past and her roots but thrust into modern city life with exposure to politics, men, the modern arms war, the changes of Iran under the Shah, Khomeni and Khatama and others.

I agree that it likely influenced her love of cooking. But it also contributed to her lack of self-confidence, her willingness to fall into a more traditional role as a wife, instead of pursuing the dream that brought her to Tehran. It contributed to her sense of isolation—but also to her kind heart and her love of nature.