Naseem Ghani / Reverend Mother Character Analysis in Midnight’s Children

Saleem Sinai’s grandmother, Amina Sinai’s mother, and Aadam Aziz’s wife. Naseem is first introduced when her father, Mr. Ghani, tricks Aadam into falling in love with her. Using the “magical and sacred” allure of a perforated sheet, Ghani summons Aadam, a doctor, to examine his daughter from behind a purdah, and after many years and several fake illnesses, Aadam and Naseem fall in love. Their love, however, is doomed from the beginning, and their union is an unhappy one. After their marriage, Naseem morphs into Reverend Mother, a particularly unpleasant and unattractive version of herself who rules over her family like a tyrant, imposing punishments and leveling insults. Reverend Mother is resentful of Aadam’s support of her exit from purdah, and she serves to personify the pre-independence concept of womanhood and femininity in India. She is dedicated to her domestic responsibilities and her religion, which she equates with morality, and she cares very little about politics or the oppression of others. Reverend Mother is killed in the Indo-Pakistani War, when a bomb is dropped on her during an air raid.

Naseem Ghani / Reverend Mother Quotes in Midnight’s Children

The Midnight’s Children quotes below are all either spoken by Naseem Ghani / Reverend Mother or refer to Naseem Ghani / Reverend Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Women have made me; and also unmade. Form Reverend Mother to the Widow, and even beyond, I have been at the mercy of the so-called (erroneously, in my opinion!) gentler sex. It is, perhaps, a matter of connection: is not Mother India, Bharat-Mata, commonly thought of as female? And, as you know, there’s no escape from her.”

Related Characters: Saleem Sinai (speaker), Naseem Ghani / Reverend Mother, Padma, The Widow / Indira Gandhi

Page Number and Citation: 465

Explanation and Analysis:

Naseem Ghani / Reverend Mother Character Timeline in Midnight’s Children

The timeline below shows where the character Naseem Ghani / Reverend Mother appears in Midnight’s Children. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

When Aadam arrives to examine his new patient, Naseem, Mr. Ghani tells him that his daughter’s usual doctor, a woman, is sick. Aadam realizes... (full context)

Mr. Ghani states that the women are his daughter’s protectors and orders Aadam to examine Naseem through the hole—from the other side of the sheet. Ghani claims that Naseem is a... (full context)

...Scheherazade. He begins with Aadam and his mother, who resents her son’s visits to examine Naseem. Mr. Ghani has taken to summoning Aadam weekly to assess his daughter’s myriad of minor... (full context)

...as the Great War rages on far away from Kashmir, Aadam falls in love with Naseem through the perforated sheet, despite his mother’s protests. Aadam’s mother is convinced that Naseem’s illnesses... (full context)

British Colonialism and Postcolonialism Theme Icon

On the day World War I ends, Naseem complains of a headache, and Aadam is finally able to see her face through the... (full context)

Aadam asks Mr. Ghani for Naseem’s hand in marriage, and he is happy to oblige. Aadam runs to tell Ilse the... (full context)

Aadam and Naseem are married, and the perforated sheet is utilized on their wedding night, providing proof of... (full context)

...Amritsar. The busy city streets are a far cry from the quiet Kashmiri village, and Naseem is having a difficult time adjusting. Aadam’s nose begins to itch, and he senses something... (full context)

Aadam and Naseem are stuck in a hotel in Amritsar because the trains are not running on account... (full context)

Meanwhile, Naseem is upset because Aadam has asked her to “move a little” during sex and has... (full context)

...mobs in the street. He bandages wounds and applies Mercurochrome, which stains his clothes red. Naseem mistakes the Mercurochrome for blood, and when Aadam corrects her, she becomes irritated, claiming that... (full context)

...many, many years later. When the shooting stops and Aadam is able to return to Naseem, he is covered in blood—which she mistakes for Mercurochrome. Naseem faints when Aadam corrects her... (full context)

Aadam’s optimism fades in the presence of Naseem, who has morphed into an exceedingly unpleasant woman now referred to as Reverend Mother. In... (full context)

Saleem tells of an argument ten years earlier in 1932, when Aadam goes behind Reverend Mother ’s back and fires their children’s religious tutor because he is “teaching them to hate.”... (full context)

Reverend Mother immediately objects to Nadir’s presence in their home. Thinking of their three daughters, Alia, Mumtaz,... (full context)

...and silently vows to marry her. Alia begins seeing Ahmed Sinai, a young, divorced merchant. Reverend Mother is sure that Ahmed intends on marrying Alia and she distrusts him, but because of... (full context)

...Nadir in the basement, and while they never speak, she tends to his every need. Reverend Mother , who possesses witch-like powers, begins to invade her daughters’ dreams at night to spy... (full context)

Saleem’s story skips to 1943, and his grandfather’s home is still in the grips of Reverend Mother ’s silence. Aadam tries to convince Nadir that he is no longer in danger, but... (full context)

...ornamented spittoon given to them as a wedding gift by Rani, who is now dying. Reverend Mother continues her angry silence and begins to grow fat, her “unspoken words inside her blowing... (full context)

...a virgin. Aadam runs to the living and tells the whole family of his findings. Reverend Mother , breaking her three-year silence, asks Mumtaz if it is true; she nods. (full context)

As Mumtaz defends Nadir, insisting that a good marriage does not depend on sex, Reverend Mother unleashes three years of pent-up silence, blaming Aadam for bringing Nadir into their home and... (full context)

...prayer-mat and the blood-stained perforated sheet. As he removes the sheet, Aadam discovers that (because Reverend Mother forgot the naphthalene balls) moths have thoroughly eaten it, and the infamous hole, now indistinguishable,... (full context)

...alcoholism and depression, Amina writes her parents for advice and three days later, Aadam and Reverend Mother arrive in Bombay from Agra. Reverend Mother is not impressed with Amina’s city life, and... (full context)

Reverend Mother takes over Amina’s kitchen and begins cooking all the meals. Ahmed makes slight improvements eating... (full context)

...Saleem is the family favorite. He is adored by his father and neighbors, and even Reverend Mother , who tells him, “Just pull up your socks, whatsitsname, and you’ll be better than... (full context)

...and “every step is like walking on razor blades.” In her guilt, made worse by Reverend Mother ’s cooking, Amina believes her corns to be punishment for her sinful gambling. She begins... (full context)

...his earlier success, and her advancing age is affecting her acting career. Pia complains that Reverend Mother , who has long since disapproved of acting, has begun harassing her to “acquire the... (full context)

...family soon arrives at Buckingham Villa to observe the forty-day mourning period for Hanif’s death. Reverend Mother , who has always disliked Pia, is irritated with her lack of crying and appropriate... (full context)

As Pia cries, Reverend Mother embraces her, finally forgiving her for her lack of mourning. She tells Pia that she... (full context)

...midnight switch. Instead, he focuses his considerable rage onto Amina, berating and abusing her until Reverend Mother intervenes. Telling her daughter that there is “no shame in leaving an inadequate husband,” she... (full context)

...boarders. Saleem and his family are unable to get to Agra to mourn Aadam and Reverend Mother , likewise, is unable to get to Pakistan. (full context)

Following Aadam’s death, Reverend Mother and Pia move to Pakistan. Reverend Mother does not mourn or mention Aadam, who had... (full context)

...begins to work her revenge on Ahmed and Amina. She begins, like Mary Pereira and Reverend Mother , to stir her emotions into her cooking, and she feeds Saleem and his family... (full context)

...all over Pakistan. Of the three bombs that hit Rawalpindi, the first hits and kills Reverend Mother and Pia, the second hits Zafar’s jailhouse, effectively freeing him, and the third hits Emerald’s... (full context)