What are the motifs in Beneath a Marble Sky: A Novel of the Taj Mahal by John Shors?

Envy is a motif in the story. Envy is when a person feels a painful, covetous desire for another's possessions or advantages. Envy as a theme in Beneath a Marble Sky is the chief emotion that drives the antagonist, Aurangzeb. Even though the story is told entirely from Jahanara's point of view, she details enough of Aurangzeb's actions for the reader to get a sense that envy and fear impel his every action. Aurangzeb is always watching, always looking for a way to insert himself between Jahanara and her parents, or Dara. Jahanara doesn't ascribe envy to Aurangzeb's motivations until later because she has trouble believing that she, a mere girl, could have anything that the boy-child, Aurangzeb, could want. In fact, she herself feels envious of her brothers' advantages and their freedom.