The roughness of pursuing a dream or meeting expectations can leave a person flushed with exhaustion. The anxiety of avoiding disappointing others might lead to a lot of confusion that one doesn’t know how to handle. To deal with this, one can either run away from their problem or face it head-on. Gulab Bibi, the protagonist of the short story, The Poison of the Blue Rose, is torn between pursuing a personal passion and choosing to comply. Through Gulab Bibi’s experiences, Yasmin Marri demonstrates that when an uncertain individual wish to pursue a personal desire, they may choose to disappoint or adhere to society, resulting in the individual experiencing inner conflict.
Choosing between loyalty and pursuing a personal ambition might leave a person feeling overwhelmed. Doubts and disagreements develop as a result of this. Gulab Bibi falls in love with Rafiq, but her parents have already arranged for her to marry someone else. The narrator reads the lines on her hand and tells her that Rafiq is her fate. Gulab Bibi is at a loss for what to do and is overcome with emotion as a result of this internal conflict. She is confronted with the truth that she cannot disappoint her parents, despite her heart’s desire. When a person’s fantasy is broken by an unfulfilling fact, they may clearly understand what is best for them and their future, even if they are unhappy at the time. Gulab Bibi must next make a decision that will determine whether or not she will be happy in the future.
Individuals may feel compelled to select the polar opposite of what they desire. Society’s pressure can change a person’s feelings and make them question if a decision is right or bad. Gulab Bibi decides not to marry Rafiq after being pressed by her parents. She seeks help in yearning to the narrator’s house months after their previous contact in order to rekindle hope. She wears her wedding gown and is ready to marry, yet she still has contradictions. Despite the narrator’s efforts to relieve her of the burden, she informs the narrator that she will never forget Rafiq. The likelihood of regret is a crucial aspect that comes into play at this point in an individual’s decision-making process. The fear of not being satisfied in the future as a result of a previous decision might keep a person yearning for redemption. The fear of making the wrong decision can follow a person until they make it, and sometimes even after they do it. Gulab Bibi, on the other hand, trusts the narrator to lead her to a life without regrets.
Eventually, one must accept their faith because it is the only way to move forward in life. Gulab Bibi’s questions regarding the narrator’s prior love life triggered numerous memories that the narrator had previously suppressed, demonstrating that no one can truly escape their past because it will always be there no matter how hard they try to forget it. The conflict is handed on to the narrator at this point in the story. The concept of the blue rose is introduced to the readers in Wonders about the Past. It represents poison and the agony that can be inflicted by one’s past mistakes. Gulab Bibi recognized that when faced with the choice of pursuing a passion or conforming to expectations, the most sensible solution was to conform because it was for her own good. Even though she desired the one thing she couldn’t have, true love, the notion of disappointment grew excruciating.
Citations
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/anatomy-brave-decisions-saurabh-singhal
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-conform-social-norm-people.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/41087279@N00/327746344