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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mrs Mahmood, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Escape and Catharsis
Dreams, Regret, and Self-Discovery
Maturity and Marriage
Summary
Analysis
Mr. Mahmood reflects on his changed relationship to the noisiness that comes with living in London. When he and his wife, Isobel, first moved to the city, the sound of an underground train running beneath their home shocked them. Now, the sound of the train comforts Mr. Mahmood, and he sometimes relies on it to lull him to sleep. Mr. Mahmood notes that the sports shop where he works as a manager is noisy, too, but he appreciates the business that comes with being located near a university.
Mr. Mahmood’s opening reflection on London establishes the story’s lively setting, which becomes important as the narrative progresses and the reader witnesses Mr. Mahmood’s more atypical experiences in less-frequented parts of town. Additionally, the development of Mr. Mahmood’s attitude toward London’s noisiness reflects his capacity for change, foreshadowing the emotional growth that he accomplishes later in the story.
Themes
In a flashback, Mr. Mahmood thinks back to a seemingly ordinary work day at his sports shop a few weeks ago. Mr. Mahmood tidies up some tracksuits on display while Deidra works at the cash register and Cedric assists a teenage boy with finding new running shoes. Not quite paying attention to Cedric and the boy, Mr. Mahmood focuses on tidying up. He believes that maintaining a clean shop is important and creates a trustworthy image for his business. Mr. Mahmood is “particular about order” and wonders if he learned this fastidiousness from Isobel.
This flashback continues to establish the story’s setting and what a typical day in Mr. Mahmood’s life looks like. It’s clear that Mr. Mahmood is quite invested in performing well at his role as a sports shop manager, personally completing tasks that managers tend to leave for more junior-level employees. Mr. Mahmood’s question of whether his wife’s meticulousness has rubbed off on him also quickly establishes his and Isobel’s relationship as one in which both partners—as we see later—learn from each other. As such, this early mention of Isobel foreshadows the later exploration of what shortcomings Mr. Mahmood and Isobel have helped one another with as a couple.
Themes
Wearing a pair of Nike running shoes, the teenage boy walks around the shop, testing them out. Mr. Mahmood, still not paying too much attention, likes to wonder where young people are headed in life and thinks to himself that the teenage boy moves with certainty, like a gazelle. A second boy suddenly appears and asks Cedric for assistance. The first teenage boy walks out of the shop, still wearing the Nike shoes. Mr. Mahmood notices.
Mr. Mahmood’s tendency to wonder about the lives of his customers—and those of especially the younger ones—speaks to his reflective and introspective nature as well as his commitment to his job. In thinking about his customers as real people rather than mere customers, Mr. Mahmood’s curiosities point to a developed sense of understanding for other people, and his curiosity about his younger customers suggests that he does hold some level of care for children, despite not trusting that he’s ready to have his own. Additionally, the fact that it’s Mr. Mahmood who first notices that the boy exits the shop without paying for the shoes further emphasizes how proficient he is at his job.
Themes
Mr. Mahmood chases the teenage boy, who breaks into a run after realizing that Mr. Mahmood is following him. During the chase, Mr. Mahmood thinks back to an important athletic meet he attended when he was 17. At this age, Mr. Mahmood was a proud and accomplished runner, having broken county records and collected a variety of accolades. After realizing that he was facing serious competition during this meet, however, the young Mr. Mahmood began to feel exhausted at the idea of his success slipping away. He did not qualify at the meet, and although he promised his friends he would try again the following year, Mr. Mahmood ultimately gave up on his athletic career.
As Mr. Mahmood runs after the boy, he escapes his typical workday and environment, which triggers old memories that he’s likely suppressed. Although Mr. Mahmood appears to find fulfillment in his job and aims to go above and beyond as a manager, he once chased different dreams. Much like how he puts in the work to do his best as a sports shop manager, the young Mr. Mahmood once trained diligently as a track and field athlete. The fateful day during which the young Mr. Mahmood struggled to qualify at the athletics meet then parallels the current Mr. Mahmood’s desperate chase after the shoe-stealing boy. In the present day, Mr. Mahmood’s chase seems to offer him a chance to make up for having not been fast enough in the past.
Themes
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Mr. Mahmood catches the teenage boy, who says nothing, although Mr. Mahmood believes the boy is shocked that he was fast enough to catch up. As they walk back to the shop, Mr. Mahmood notices the second boy watching them from behind a pillar and grows angry at the realization that he was a decoy. Cedric collects the now-unsellable Nike shoes from the teenage boy, and Mr. Mahmood grows angrier as the boy shows no remorse, even seeming bored. Mr. Mahmood raises his hand to strike the boy but stops himself. Cedric and Deidra help him calm down, and Mr. Mahmood thinks to himself that he is glad that he and Isobel do not have children.
Although Mr. Mahmood catches the young thief, his realization that the second boy in the shop was also part of the scheme undercuts his short-lived feeling of success. In other words, although Mr. Mahmood initially seemed to have more control over the shoplifting situation than he did over the race that made him give up on running, he realizes that in both scenarios, he falls short of keeping everything under control. Ultimately, Mr. Mahmood’s experience of catching the young thief makes him see himself in a more critical manner, as he seemingly comes to view himself as someone who isn’t mature enough to be a father.
Themes
Mr. Mahmood leaves work early, which is rare for him. He buys fresh sea bass and white wine at a supermarket to surprise Isobel (he “need[s] something to do with [his] hands” and plans to distract himself with cooking). When Isobel gets home from her job as an orthoptist at a children’s hospital, she asks Mr. Mahmood what’s wrong, and he brushes her off, inviting her to eat. Isobel convinces Mr. Mahmood to talk about his day, and he shares how upset he was at the teenage boy—and at himself for almost striking a child. As she helps clean up, Isobel sympathizes with her husband, saying that she has felt angry before, too, but it’s important to remember that people succumb to stealing for a reason. A bit drunk, Mr. Mahmood doesn’t understand how Isobel can be so calm and announces that he wants to go for a drive.
Here, Mr. Mahmood exhibits his tendency to avoid negative feelings by distracting himself. He refrains from confiding in Isobel, instead announcing that he wants to go for a drive. In addition to showcasing his habit of relying on small means of escape to get through difficult situations, Mr. Mahmood’s actions also demonstrate how he and Isobel have differing levels of comfort when it comes to dealing with their emotions. In fact, although Mr. Mahmood starts out wanting to surprise his wife with a homecooked dinner, it’s Isobel who ends up cleaning up and tending to him when he gets drunk.
Themes
As Isobel drives, Mr. Mahmood reflects on how his wife probably never imagined herself being with someone like him, a humble sports shop manager. He believes that her parents were disappointed, but he also knows that the most difficult part of their marriage has passed. Sometimes the couple gets on a bus or train going the wrong way—they don’t panic and instead discover a new part of London or the country. Even so, Mr. Mahmood worries that Isobel is thinking about having children again.
By reflecting on what he thinks Isobel’s family wanted for her, Mr. Mahmood contextualizes his sense of inadequacy in his marriage. At the same time, however, it’s necessary to note that he simply assumes that Isobel “probably” never imagined marrying someone like him and that her parents were disappointed—he doesn’t know any of this for sure. That being said, Mr. Mahmood’s status as an unreliable narrator becomes particularly evident here. After all, even though he’s so worried about whether Isobel imagined her life to turn out this way, she still agrees to go on a drive, takes the wheel because he’s drunk, and doesn’t force him to continue their earlier conversation. It’s quite possible that Isobel is happy to support her husband even despite their differences.
Themes
Mr. Mahmood is more comfortable thinking about his interactions with customers in the sports shop than he is about the idea of having children. For example, he has learned that customers often don’t like to admit when they need help and don’t like to feel bombarded by the staff. Earlier in the day, a famous athlete who competed in the last Olympics came into the shop with his son, and Mr. Mahmood let Deidra handle the sale. As customers line up for autographs from the athlete, Mr. Mahmood accidentally makes eye contact with the athlete and feels weak. He excuses himself to his office and thinks about calling Isobel but doesn’t.
Mr. Mahmood again indicates that he isn’t ready to have children, but it’s worth noting that this doesn’t definitively mean he would be a bad father—after all, he’s at least quite skilled and thoughtful in his interactions with his customers, perhaps suggesting that he is more paternal than he himself might think. Mr. Mahmood may not give himself enough credit in terms of his ability to interact with others and make them feel comfortable—because he doesn’t yet understand his own strengths due to his continued focus on his flaws. Moreover, the Olympian inadvertently forces Mr. Mahmood to confront the future he once wanted for himself as a young athlete, demonstrating how unfulfilled dreams have a funny way of coming back later in life.
Themes
Still riding in the car and thinking about the events of the day, Mr. Mahmood remembers leaving the shop after making eye contact with the Olympian. He thinks back to getting on a random bus, wanting to go far away. He feels helpless, convinced that he still would have regretted his life even if he had made different choices in the past. The bus drives across a river, and Mr. Mahmood deboards and ambles to a park. Still struggling with whether he would have lost his temper if Cedric was not there, Mr. Mahmood approaches a track, stretches, and runs a loop around. A few children cheer him on. Mr. Mahmood thinks to himself that he does not know whether he has failed in life or what the future holds, but he does know that Isobel is “the one certainty in [his] life.”
Although Mr. Mahmood again seems to run away from his negative emotions, this final, more prolonged moment of escape ultimately proves productive for his wellbeing and old regrets. After all, only when Mr. Mahmood fully escapes from the comfortable, everyday spaces he frequents is he able to deliberately make the choice to run a loop around a track and enjoy the feeling of running again. The presence of children in this moment infuses the conclusion of the story with a more upbeat tone as well—even if Mr. Mahmood and Isobel never have children, the clapping children seem to suggest that Mr. Mahmood’s relationship to children does not have to be one of insecurity or fear. Similarly, even if Mr. Mahmood can’t be a perfect husband, he’s still able to love and appreciate his wife.
Themes
