UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA

FACULDADE DE LETRAS

CENTER OF ENGLISH STUDIES

ENGLISH LITERATURE (THE 20th CENTURY AND TODAY)

Multiculturalism in Zadie Smith’s Short Story “The Waiter’s Wife”

Joana Meireles Silva and Silvana Otília Meinerz

2014

Immigration Timeline1

1947 – India’s Partition, creation of the separate states of Pakistan and East Pakistan

(that would later became Bangladesh).

1948 – British Nationality Act – Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies.

1948 (22nd of June) – the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in London, delivering

hundreds of men from the West Indies.

1958 – Notting Hill Race Riots.

1962 – Commonwealth Immigration Act – Legislation was passed to restrict the number

of Commonwealth immigrants to Britain. Applicants now had to have work permits,

which were given mostly to skilled migrants, such as doctors.

1962 (6 of Aug) – Jamaica became independent from the British Empire.

1965 – First Race Relations Act.

1966 – Liberal minister Roy Jenkins speech about equal opportunities and integration

for the immigrants.

1968 – Conservative politician Enoch Powell speech – ‘Rivers of Blood’ – attacking the

government's immigration policy.

1970 – First racist attacks on Bangladeshis

1971 (16 Dec) – Bangladesh Liberation War – Bangladesh became independent from

Pakistan.

1972 (18 Apr) – Bangladesh became a member of the Commonwealth.

1 Most of the data for this timeline was supported by articles from the BBC News website. The links have been added to the final bibliography.

1. Introduction

Zadie Smith’s short story “The Waiter’s Wife” introduces the complexities of a

modern multicultural Britain. The story takes place in the Great London of 1975, when

Samad and Alsana Iqbal come from Bangladesh to try a best life in London, where

Samad has an English friend from the Second World War, named Archibald Jones.

Besides the Bangladeshi couple, who are the story’s center, other important

characters are the black Jamaican Clara Jones, who is Archibal’s wife; Alsana’s niece

Neena, who already lives in London; and Samad’s cousin Ardashir Mukhul. This essay

is going to examine the complex relations between these characters within the idea of a

multicultural society, dealing with the concepts of assimilation, the “English dream”,

racism and exploitation.

Some key historical facts will be presented for the sake of a better understanding

of the set of events that led London to be the “melting pot” as it is called.

2. Multiculturalism and Assimilation

Considering the substance of this essay, it is indispensable to briefly comment

upon the notions of multiculturalism and assimilation.

Multiculturalism is the easiest term to define, since it seems to be contemplated

with more agreeing opinions than the other concept. According to the Cambridge

Dictionary, multiculturalism “is the belief that different cultures within a society should

all be given importance.” Reynolds defines it as “(…) the view that [cultural] groups

should maintain their heritage cultures as much as possible” (Reynolds 1). Reynolds

also brings in his book the opinion of Berry upon multiculturalism, labeled by him as

integration, and being characterized “(…) by a positive attitude toward both the host and

heritage culture” (Reynolds 6).

Opposed to this concept is the idea of assimilation, which is a much more

controversial issue, having many authors different opinions over it. To Reynolds,

assimilation is “(…) the belief that cultural groups should give up their “heritage”

cultures and take on the host society’s way of life” (Reynolds 1). As for Berry,

assimilation “arises when the individual has a positive attitude toward the host culture

and a negative attitude toward the heritage culture” (Reynolds 6).

3. Importance of colonialism, a post-empire society

The impact of the British Empire had a great influence on the development of

the society in the twentieth century Britain. Following the need the country felt after the

Second World War for workforce, together with the creation of the Commonwealth,

great masses of people moved to the United Kingdom. This movement had a special

impact on the country’s capital, the city of London.

When in 1948 Britain opened its boarders to welcome people from the old

colonies, many people took the chance as a life changing opportunity. Coming from

third world country environments, where in some cases there was political suppression,

war, bad working conditions, natural disasters or poverty, the possibility of living in a

country where there was religious and political freedom and better jobs in terms of

money and conditions, tempted the most diverse crowd and a wave of migration, mainly

to the city’s working hub, the capital, was predictably in motion.

However, what was not so predictable was that these movements would change

the city’s cultural and social features in an extremely remarkable way.

4. Racism and the pursuit of a better life

Alsana is a very strong character, she does not only represent a conservative and

traditional Bengali, who has brought her cultural native habits to her new country and

who defends her ideals in a very strong and inflexible way. She represents the strong

impact that immigrants have on the receiving country. When she first meets Clara she

shows signs of a closed mind by judging her by the way the dresses and after talking a

little with her she thinks “(…) some black people are friendly (…)” (Smith 3059),

which is a racist thought that underlines her judgmental and prejudicial way of thinking.

In the other hand, the Iqbals have travelled a long distance to settle in London

and especially her expectations are high. There is a strong emphasis put in the fact that

they have both worked really hard for a year so that they could move from a bad area to

a nicer one. The pursuit of a better life represented by the western countries to the

people who emigrate from the third world countries seems to fade away some time after

their arrival. Samad works long hours, mainly at night, leaving him with little spare time

only to sleep and restraining him from spending some quality time with his wife. He is

clearly frustrated by his job as a waiter. He has studies and knowledge that entitle him

of a higher position with a better salary and the lack of recognition or of a better

opportunity are demotivating.

But then the heartbreaking disappointment – to find out that the inclining of one’s head, poising of one’s pen, these were important. It was important to be a good waiter, to listen when someone said:Lamb Dawn Sock and Rice. Please. With Chips. Thank you.And fifteen pence clinked on china. Thank you Sir. Thank you so very much.(Smith 3061)

The irony used by the author emphasizes the frustration felt by Samad who has

no alternative but to do his best in a job he feels no interest for or sees no future.

Ardashir Mohammed, his cousin who owns the restaurant, represents another

side of immigration. Even though he comes from the same country as Samad he has no

consideration for him and following his request for a payment increase, done in the

name of family relations and the need for better life conditions, he merciless declines,

showing no compassion for his relative. This character represents a greedy

businessman, who regardless of his origin, shows no sympathy or concern towards is

compatriots.

This episode adds a miserable dimension to Samad’s life and lack of

achievement workwise in his new home country. Followed by Alsana’s exaggerated

reaction, who criticises him and questions the improvement of their economic situation::

“Useless! Tell me Samad Miah, what is the point of moving here – nice house, yes very

nice, very nice – but where is the food?” (Smith 3063) And again she denotes her racist

and closed mind thoughts: “[Friends]. Who are they? (…) I don’t know them! You fight

an old, forgotten war with some Englishman … married to a black! Whose friends are

they? These are the people my child will grow up around? Their children – half blacky-

white?” (Smith 3063)

Even though the conflict of cultures is not emphasized in the text, Smith does

mention some aspects of cultural clashes, specially represented by the temperamental

and unbalanced Alsana. The fact that they both wanted to move out of the East side of

London, related with the “Whites-only, anti-immigrant British political party” (Smith,

3062) denotes as well a racist conflict present in the society.

5. Alsana versus Clara

The two immigrant friends, Alsana Iqbal, from Bangladesh, and Clara Jones,

from Jamaica are presented to the reader right in the beginning of the story: They “(…)

had this thing in common and no more: that they were young, much younger than the

men they stood awkwardly beside” (Smith 3058). The fact that they are both immigrant

works just as a common base to put them next to each other so that their differences are

even more evident: “Clara was tall, (…) wearing red shorts of a shortness that Alsana

had never imagined possible, even in this country.” (Smith 3058). Early in the text we

get to know, as expected from her Asian Muslim origin, Alsana’s traditionalism and

conservationism in regarding what is considered the right behavioral pattern for women,

as “amongst Indians [and Bengalis, since their cultures in this sense are very similar]

there is great emphasis upon (…) the relative seclusion and modesty of females.” (Rex

127).

Despite their worlds apart and Alsana’s prejudice, as already mentioned, they

soon become friends: “So some black people are friendly, thought Alsana after that first

meeting was over.” (Smith 3059) This shows us that although a multicultural society is

built from cultural differences (Rex 120), they are not an impediment that prevent

people of different backgrounds from mixing and building relationships. On the other

hand, and this is a vicious circle, we cannot be deceived into thinking that once a

relationship exists the differences are set aside, as clearly shown in this quotation: “But

even when they [Clara and Alsana] became fairly close, it was impossible to forget what

a peculiar couple they made on the bus, in the park.” (Smith 3059).

6. Alsana versus Neena

Alsana and her niece Neena are another interesting pair to be studied, being even

a more vivid contrast than Alsana and Clara.

Here we have this quotation from the story: “‘He [Samad] works,’ replied

Alsana tersely. ‘And prays,’ she added, for she liked to make a point of her

respectability, and besides she was really very traditional, very religious, lacking

nothing except the faith” (Smith 3064). First of all, it is important to point how well

Smith builds her characters. She does it in a realistic rather than idealized way, avoiding

the common mistake of thinking the immigrants as the innocent, brave poor minorities.

On the contrary, here we have a picture of a Bangladeshi young woman of strong

personality and the denunciation of her hypocrisy.

Since religion is so important in the Bengali culture, Alsana feels the need of

reinforcing its strong presence within her family, elevating her husband’s moral in the

public eye so that she is also a direct object of admiration and exaltation. Taking into

account the secularization that happened in Britain between 1960 and 2000, coming by

the end of the century to undermine religion (Brown 315), it is relevant to note that to

an English person this remark would probably mean anything but a search for ego

exaltation as it is to Alsana. Differently from Bangladesh, pride of religion was not and

is not a constitutive characteristic of the English culture.

Now, to compare Alsana’s attitude with Neena’s, here we quote her reply to the

excerpt above: “I thought that praying was done on people’s knees.” (Smith 3064) Here

we have the first sign of the striking contrast between Alsana and her niece. The use of

“on people’s knees” suggests a distance between Neena and the habit of praying, since

she could have said “on our knees”, including herself in this practice. Her remark is

humorous, which is also a sign of detachment from religion, since the laughter “foi

sempre ligado ao baixo material e corporal. O riso degrada e materializa.” (Bakhtin 18).

Since religion plays this huge role in Bangladeshi culture and identity and Neena does

not mention it with any kind of reverence, we can see that she had reformulated secular

moral identity for herself inside the process of assimilation of an English culture that

has slid from religion (Brown 314).

We also see this distancing and even repudiation from Neena towards religion

when, further in the story, Alsana says: “[Sarah, wife of Abraham] popping out babies

when she as a hundred years old, by the grace of Allah,” (Smith 3065) at which Neena

changes the subject, “groaning at the turn the conversation is taking” (Smith 3065).

During the same conversation in the story, Alsana tells Clara and Neena that her

husband wasn’t with her when she did the ultrasound. She explains: “A woman has to

have the private things – a husband needn’t be involved in body-business, in a lady’s…

parts.” (Smith 3065) As in the passage when Alsana meets Clara, this quote shows a

conservative opinion of correct female attitude, this time towards sexual issues, which

in Alsana’s education is understood as modesty. On the other hand, we have her niece’s

reply pointing to a totally different view of sex and its mention: “Bloody Hell, Alsi, he

must have been involved in your parts sometime, or is this the immaculate bloody

conception?” (Smith 3065). Neena’s approach to sex issues is closer to the English

concept of something just natural, far from being a taboo as it is in Alsana’s speech. The

fact that they’re relatives, almost the same age and, the most important, both

Bangladeshi, makes the cultural differences between Neena and Alsana even more

conflicting.

When talking about the babies’ names, Alsana tells Clara and Neena her choice:

“Magid and Millat. Ems are good. Ems are strong. Mahatma, Mohammed, that funny

Mr. Morecambe, from Morecambe and Wise – letter you can trust” (Smith 3065).

Choosing the name of one’s baby is generally considered a very important task, and the

reasons in which this choice is based use to be much meaningful to the parents.

Mahatma Gandhi was the preeminent leader of Indian independence movement in

British-ruled India, and the honorific “Mahatma” comes from Sanskrit: "high-souled",

"venerable". Mohammed or Muhammad is considered by Muslims as the last prophet

sent by God to mankind. These two well known figures are essentially connected to the

Indian subcontinent and its common culture both in religious and political areas. As

Alsana and Samad are Muslim Bengali, Gandhi and Mohammed are two people

intrinsically related to their identities and their homeland culture. Until this point,

Alsana’s speech shows unity and no sign of “corrupting” English influences, but when

she mentions a totally different personality, this unity is however broken. As a footnote

in the very short story explains, “Morecambe and Wise” was a “British television

comedy duo with their own show (1961 – 1983)” (Smith 3065). It means that without

realizing, Alsana places Eastern (symbolized by Gandhi and Mohammed) and Western

(represented by Mr. Morecambe) societies on a similar level, welcoming an essentially

English reference into a very meaningful sphere of her life, which is, in some degree,

assimilating Western culture.

Other facts that demonstrate Neena’s already long distance from Bangladeshi

culture is that she smokes (Smith 3066, 3067) and is a feminist. This can be mainly seen

in the following quotations: “Oh Yes, Auntie, Yes, the little submissive Indian woman.”

(Smith 3066) and

‘Shame that you’re going to have boys’ (…) ‘I mean, I just think men have caused enough

chaos this century. There’s enough bloody men in the world. If I knew I was going to have a

boy…’ she pauses to prepare her two falsely conscious friends for this new concept, ‘I’d have

to seriously consider abortion’ (Smith 3067)

She influences Clara to read feminist books in order to rid her of a “false

consciousness”, which is “a term used by some Marxists for the way in which material,

ideological and institutional processes in capitalist society mislead proletariat”. 2 In the

story’s context it means that, to Neena, Clara is misled by the sexist society that

oppresses women. In a peak of her feminist attitude, she says she would consider

aborting baby boys. By the mention of abortion, Clara and Alsana have two totally

different reactions: “Alsana screams, claps her hands over one of her own ears and one

of Clara’s, and then almost chokes on a piece of eggplant. For some reason the remark

simultaneously strikes Clara as funny; hysterically, desperately funny; miserably funny”

(Smith 3067). As said in the text, Neena is nonplussed with these divergent reactions

that show us, once more, how Clara is much less conservative than Alsana. To the

former, the idea is simply ridiculous or foolishly extremist and probably seems very

much improbable. On the other hand, Alsana is taken aback by this horrible, dread

word. More than a different opinion about female body, abortion is, for Alsana, an

unnamable heresy.

The comic touch Zadie adds to this situation through an ironic tone can be

caused by the paradox of the environment associated with the history of human

relations. Alsana reacts impulsively in a judgmental and critical way, showing herself as

very offended and making a small public scene, while Clara bursts into laughter. The

opposed reactions of the three reflect their thoughts, Alsana as the conservative and

closed minded character, Neena as the open minded and defying girl and Clara as the

most neutral and easy going of the three. The comic effect happens because of the

opposite personalities cohabiting in the same context, a product of the multicultural set

2 According to Wikipedia, available in <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_consciousness>. Accessed on 16 nov 2014.

of the story. In other words, the author uses the comic effect in the text as a way of

emphasising the very unlikely environment and that brings the reader to the attention of

this peculiar atmosphere.

Considering this analysis, we can ask ourselves if the nickname-tag “Niece-Of-

Shame” is not about Neena having mostly abandoned the Bengali culture and religion to

embrace the English culture, becoming a kind of moral pariah in the vision of her acid

and critic aunt. Even the way Neena calls Alsana – Aunty Alsi – is a lot provocative to

her, and Alsana insists on keeping a barrier between she and her niece, sometimes

thicker and sometimes thinner, but always there.

7. Conclusion

“The Waiter’s Wife” focus on a different reality than the one we are mostly used

to look at. By exploring the relation between individuals in a multicultural environment

Smith brings up the topic of a new reality that is about to change the history of human

relations. Set a few decades earlier than the time the short story was written, when in

fact the impact of the mass of immigrants that moved to London in the second half of

the 20th century was just beginning, this story is the prelude of Smith’s own reality, as

she is herself the result of this mixed cultures.

Knowing very well the place where she set her story, Smith’s sharp sarcasm

reveals the hypocrisy of the ideology of London as a harmonious “melting pot”, where

rather than giving unique contributions to the final product, cultural groups are, many

times, “swallowed up by” the dominant group (Brown 2).

Nevertheless, the short story is by no means an ordinary exaltation of immigrant

peoples or a pragmatic exposition of social issues. Using a vivid language and rapid-fire

dialogues, Smith presents her characters as real people, not idealized stereotypes, and

provides a rich and vibrant characterization of different nationalities in contact. “The

Waiter’s Wife” is an eloquent picture of complex social relations that although being

very improbable are made possible in a unique place: the multicultural London.

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