Midnight’s Children: Book 1: Under the Carpet Summary & Analysis

Aadam is compelled to blow his nose after completing the death certificate because he suspects Brigadier Dodson and Major Zulfikar of organizing and ordering the Hummingbird’s assassination. Zulfikar is a Muslim, and since both he and Dodson are in favor of partitioning India, the Hummingbird’s optimism is potentially harmful to their own political agenda. Aadam’s constipation is more evidence of his conflicted identity—his own body is unable to tolerate Indian food.

Aadam spends so much time on his toilet on account of his inability to tolerate his “Indianized” diet that he has a special name for it, and this is further proof of his conflicted identity. Furthermore, Nadir’s refuge in Aadam’s laundry chest echoes Saleem’s own hiding place in his mother’s laundry chest. 

Once again, Reverend Mother is without a say in the running of her own home—the space that she has fiercely claimed as her territory. Aadam makes a one-sided decision to allow Nadir into their home and then silences his wife in a display of his power. Not to be outdone, Reverend Mother enforces her own power through silence. Rushdie’s use of the word “rotting” to describe this silence reflects the scope of Reverend Mother’s power and her ability to make her family miserable.  

Nadir is a “loose end” as far as Zulfikar is concerned, and he is a presumed threat to the Muslim League as long as he is alive and unaccounted for. Reverend Mother’s refusal to warn Alia of her distrust for Ahmed Sinai because of her vow of silence is evidence of her selfishness. She is perfectly willing to risk her daughter’s happiness and allow her relationship with an undesirable man in the name of keeping her vow and maintaining her power.

Mumtaz tends to Nadir as a service to her beloved father, but even she refuses to speak, and Reverend Mother’s witch-like abilities are further evidence of her power. Emerald’s love for Major Zulfikar is sure to add more stress to their lives. After all, if they are to marry, it will be impossible to keep Nadir a secret, and Aadam is sure to be held legally responsible for harboring a wanted man. This is further complicated by Mumtaz’s feelings for Nadir.

By this point, Reverend Mother has not spoken for an entire year, and she shows no signs of wavering. She is opposed to Mumtaz and Nadir’s marriage, but her desire to exercise her power again keeps her silent. Interestingly, despite Aadam’s aversion to religion, he still arranges for a mullah to preside over his daughter’s marriage, again highlighting the cultural significance of religion in even a secular life. Nadir’s reference to the basement as “Mumtaz Mahal”—a play on the Taj Mahal, a Mughal emperor’s gift to his favorite wife—is a reflection of his deep love for her.   

Mumtaz’s formal education reinforces her domestic duties and her expected dedication to men in Indian society. She is taught the hallmarks of a good wife, not any real marketable skill or scholarship, and this perpetuates the subordinate position of women to men. However, Mumtaz loves Nadir and she happily fulfils this traditional role, which is echoed in the couples love for the traditional, Old India game of hit-the-spittoon. 

 Rani’s illness that turns her skin white is symbolic of the whitewashing of Indian society secondary to British colonialism, and Saleem again makes note of a world event that fails to affect Indian life. Aadam’s “thorough” examination of Mumtaz is a violation of her privacy and her body, although he views it as his right as a patriarch—Mumtaz is only afforded the privacies that Aadam allows.

Again, Rushdie implies that sex is not the sole indicator of a successful marriage, but Reverend Mother disagrees. To her, Nadir’s impotence is a direct indication of his lack of masculinity and his failure to be real man. A sexless marriage is after all a childless marriage, and this goes against tradition. Emerald sees this has her chance to finally out Nadir to Zulfikar, and in doing so, hopefully secure her own marriage to a real man. Without these extreme circumstances, it is reasonable to assume that Reverend Mother’s three-year vow of silence would have lasted much, much longer.  

Nadir’s letter to Mumtaz is a legally binding divorce within Islamic society. As a man, Nadir has the power to dissolve his own marriage simply by speaking (or writing) “I divorce thee” three times. As a woman, Mumtaz is not afforded this right, and she is not permitted to object. 

Major Zulfikar is able to marry Emerald only because he blackmails Aadam. Aadam knows that if he refuses Zulfikar, he will likely be charged with harboring Nadir.

Ahmed’s insistence on Mumtaz’s new name and identity is another example of female oppression in Indian society. Ahmed selects Mumtaz’s new name and identity, and she is given no say whatsoever in the matter. As a woman, Mumtaz has absolutely zero agency over her own identity.