Sisterhood, Duty, and Rupture

Khemiri shows that sisterhood becomes both refuge and trap when love is expressed through rules that demand constant proximity and constant vigilance. Ina tries to make the sisters’ bond enforceable, repeating, “Whatever happens, we stay together,” as if a sentence can prevent the world from scattering them (10). That pact is not only emotional but logistical: at the party she turns separation into a drill, insisting, “If we lose sight of each other we can meet up here,” and even planning for a fire as though catastrophe is always one crowd away (20).

Across the sisters’ childhood in Stockholm, this commitment to togetherness is built out of necessity, since Selima’s instability pushes the girls to rely on one another more than on adults. Ina’s role hardens into management, Evelyn’s role into resistance, and Anastasia’s role into observation, so that sisterhood is...