Parvati-the-witch / Laylah Character Analysis in Midnight’s Children

Saleem Sinai’s wife and the mother of his son, Aadam Sinai. Parvati is a fellow child of midnight, and she is endowed with the powers of the illuminatus, or “the genuine gifts of conjuration and sorcery.” Parvati tricks Shiva into impregnating her, knowing the he will lose interest once she is pregnant, allowing an impotent Saleem to step in as Aadam’s father. Parvati is killed during Indira Gandhi’s Emergency.

Parvati-the-witch / Laylah Quotes in Midnight’s Children

The Midnight’s Children quotes below are all either spoken by Parvati-the-witch / Laylah or refer to Parvati-the-witch / Laylah. 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 always been the ones to change my life: Mary Pereira, Evie Burns, Jamila Singer, Parvati-the-witch must answer for who I am; and the Widow, who I’m keeping for the end; and after the end, Padma, my goddess of dung. Women have fixed me all right, but perhaps they were never central—perhaps the place which they should have filled, the hole in the center of me which was my inheritance from grandfather Aadam Aziz, was occupied for too long by my voices. Or perhaps—one must consider all possibilities—they always made me a little afraid.

Related Characters: Saleem Sinai (speaker), Aadam Aziz, The Brass Monkey / Jamila Singer, Mary Pereira, Parvati-the-witch / Laylah, Evie Burns, The Widow / Indira Gandhi

Page Number and Citation: 119-20

Explanation and Analysis:

Parvati’s formal conversion to Islam (which irritated Picture Singh, but on which I found myself insisting, in another throwback to an earlier life) was performed by a red-bearded Haji who looked ill-at-ease in the presence of so many teasing, provocative members of the ungodly; under the shifting gaze of this fellow who resembled a large and bearded onion she intoned her belief there was no God but God and that Muhammed was his prophet; she took a name which I chose for her out of the repository of my dreams, becoming Laylah, so that she too was caught up in the repetitive cycles of my history, becoming an echo of all the other people who have been obliged to change their names…like my own mother Amina Sinai, Parvati-the-witch became a new person to have a child.

Related Characters: Saleem Sinai (speaker), Mumtaz Aziz / Amina Sinai, Parvati-the-witch / Laylah, Picture Singh

Page Number and Citation: 477

Explanation and Analysis:

Parvati-the-witch / Laylah Character Timeline in Midnight’s Children

The timeline below shows where the character Parvati-the-witch / Laylah appears in Midnight’s Children. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...simply closing her eyes. Another boy born at twelve seconds after can travel through time. Parvati-the-witch, born seven seconds after midnight in the same Old Delhi slum as the Hummingbird, has... (full context)

...fall to social pressures. Sadly, most of Saleem’s words fall on deaf ears, except for Parvati-the-witch, who continues to support him. Shiva, on the other hand, does his best to pull... (full context)

...Man In The World” on account of his snake-charming abilities, and he is accompanied by Parvati-the-witch. (full context)

Parvati entertains the crowd by making them disappear inside a wicker basket, a skill made possible... (full context)

Parvati clings to Saleem, claiming that now that she has him, she won’t let him go.... (full context)

Parvati tells Saleem that she also ran into Shiva in Dacca when he came through with... (full context)

That night, Parvati comes to visit Saleem. She tells him that she has been wanting him to come... (full context)

...and Mustapha kick Saleem out of their house after they catch him in bed with Parvati. Parvati is waiting for him in the street, and together, they return to the magicians’... (full context)

At the magician’s ghetto, Parvati shares her magic with Saleem in the shadow of a mosque. She is a skilled... (full context)

Parvati develops a perpetual pout, and Picture Singh decides it is because she wants to get... (full context)

Saleem continues his story, telling a captivated Padma that on February 23, 1975, he marries Parvati-the-witch. Padma immediately becomes upset, but Saleem quickly cuts her off. He reminds her that “women... (full context)

Saleem states that Parvati “took her destiny into her own hands.” Knowing of Saleem’s impotence, she uses her magic... (full context)

On May 15, 1974, Shiva is inexplicably struck by a desire to see Parvati-the-witch, and he immediately goes to the magicians’ ghetto. Shiva takes Parvati in his arms and... (full context)

On September 12, Parvati tells Shiva that she is having his child, and his temperament immediately changes. He begins... (full context)

According to Saleem, by casting a spell on Shiva, Parvati “invalidated his only defense against marrying her.” Upon her return to the ghetto, Parvati stands,... (full context)

Picture Singh convinces Saleem that the only way to preserve Parvati’s honor and solve his own problem of infertility is to marry her. Saleem agrees, and... (full context)

As public discontent with Indira Gandhi grows, Parvati begins the first stages of labor, which in total, lasts thirteen days. During this time,... (full context)

On June 25, 1975, just as Indira Gandhi is declaring a state of emergency, Parvati gives birth to Aadam Sinai, a perfectly formed baby—with the exception of a pair of... (full context)

British Colonialism and Postcolonialism Theme Icon

...know, including all the information about the children of midnight, and they tell him that Parvati is dead. Saleem is held prisoner during the Emergency, a fate shared by “either thirty... (full context)