Fate

The main theme in Brick Lane is the role of Fate in shaping one's destiny. When Nazneen is born sickly, the midwife tells the new mother that she can take the baby to the hospital, or just leave her to her fate. Nazneen's mother chooses to wait and see what will happen. As they grow up, Nazneen and her sister Hasina are taught that fighting Fate can be fatal. Their mother, "Amma," teaches them that nothing can be changed and that everything must be borne. Amma kills herself when the girls are still small. Nazneen takes Amma's lessons to heart, but Hasina rebels early on. At 16, Hasina elopes with a young boy for a love marriage. Nazneen is soon given away in an arranged marriage which she does not protest at all. While Nazneen is in London with her new husband, she worries about Hasina but she often...