Chapter 2, pages 54-67 Summary and Analysis

As Firdaus becomes a novice in Sharifa's hands, Sharifa opens Firdaus' eyes to the events in her past that had remained hidden from her eyes, and she claims that men did not know Firdaus' worth because she did not value herself highly enough. It will be Sharifa's affair to ask men for a price.

Firdaus watches the Nile from her window every morning, and the moonbeams flow over her as gentle, clean men make love to her. The pleasure that she feels ends in a pain that feels like pleasure and seems to belong to a time long ago and the body of someone else. The comfort at Sharifa's ceases to exist for Firdaus as she never leaves the bedroom and many men visit at every hour. When they ask if she feels good, she wants to...