Martyr!
Chapter Twenty-seven [Sitting on a…], Martyr!
by Kaveh AkbarCyrus sits on a bench in Prospect Park, reeling from the news of Orkideh’s death after receiving a voicemail from her ex-wife and gallerist, Sang. Despite having known Orkideh for only a short time, Cyrus is deeply affected, contrasting his grief with the seemingly effortless composure of those around him. The chapter reflects on the fleeting nature of modern grief, reduced to a brief interruption in the constant stream of daily life. As Cyrus hesitantly returns Sang’s call, the weight of the moment is palpable, setting the stage for a conversation that will unravel long-held secrets.
The phone call between Cyrus and Sang is tense and emotionally charged. Sang reveals that Orkideh took her own life, a fact Cyrus struggles to process. Their dialogue is halting, filled with pauses and unspoken questions, as Cyrus grapples with why Sang contacted him specifically. Sang mentions that Orkideh valued their conversations, hinting at a deeper connection. Cyrus’s growing unease culminates in a sudden, desperate question: “Was Orkideh my mother?” The revelation hangs in the air, leaving both characters—and the reader—stunned.
Sang confirms Cyrus’s suspicion, explaining that Orkideh recognized him immediately when they met but hadn’t disclosed their relationship. Cyrus is overwhelmed, his identity shaken as he confronts the truth about his parentage. The narrative captures his visceral reaction—the coldness in his throat, the heat in his ears—as he struggles to reconcile this new reality. Sang’s admission that Orkideh “wanted you to know” adds layers of regret and missed opportunities, leaving Cyrus to grapple with the abrupt loss of a mother he never truly knew.
In the aftermath of the revelation, Cyrus searches for Orkideh’s images online, scrutinizing her face for traces of himself or his father’s late wife, Roya. The chapter closes with Sang en route to meet Cyrus, leaving his emotional state unresolved but hinting at further confrontation and clarity. The scene underscores themes of identity, grief, and the fragile nature of human connections, as Cyrus stands on the precipice of a new understanding of his past.
FAQs
1. How does Cyrus react to the news of Orkideh’s death, and what does this reveal about his emotional state?
Answer:
Cyrus reacts with profound shock and grief to Orkideh’s death, trembling uncontrollably and struggling to comprehend how Sang can function normally. His visceral response—feeling “gutted” and fixating on the coldness in his throat—reveals deep emotional turmoil. The chapter contrasts his raw grief with philosophical musings about the diminishing duration of grief in modern times (e.g., Seneca’s seven years vs. twenty-first-century “scroll-past” mourning). Cyrus’s inability to process mundane activities around him (“people walked with infuriating ease”) underscores his isolation in grief, foreshadowing the later revelation that Orkideh was his mother, which intensifies his distress.2. Analyze the significance of Cyrus’s question “Was Orkideh my mother?” in the context of identity and belonging.
Answer:
This climactic question shatters Cyrus’s understanding of his identity, framed by the metaphor of a “bullet shredding porcelain.” The revelation forces him to confront suppressed questions about his origins, mirrored in his frantic online search for physical resemblances in Orkideh’s photos. Sang’s response—that Orkideh recognized Cyrus immediately but delayed telling him—highlights themes of fractured familial connections and the weight of unspoken truths. The scene’s tension arises from Cyrus’s dual realization: his brief connection with Orkideh held profound significance, and her death irrevocably closes the door to deeper understanding, leaving him adrift in unresolved grief.3. How does the chapter use environmental details to reflect Cyrus’s psychological state?
Answer:
Nature mirrors Cyrus’s inner chaos through oppressive, tactile imagery: “wet black scabs” on trees evoke festering wounds, while the “dutiful” clouds suggest life’s cruel indifference to his pain. The “earth beneath his feet felt on fire” contrasts with his cold throat, embodying his emotional whiplash. The passing roller-skating dog and leather-gloved strangers emphasize his alienation from mundane routines. These details externalize his destabilization after Orkideh’s death and the maternal revelation, culminating in the “black scabs roiling on the trees”—a visual echo of his shattered psyche as he awaits Sang, suspended between trauma and truth.4. Evaluate Sang’s statement that Orkideh “lived for something” and “knew when she was done living.” How does this perspective complicate Cyrus’s grief?
Answer:
Sang’s pragmatic framing of Orkideh’s suicide as agency (“her own terms”) introduces moral ambiguity into Cyrus’s mourning. While offering a semblance of comfort (her life had purpose), it clashes with Cyrus’s need for maternal connection and unanswered questions. The statement’s clinical tone—contrasted with Sang’s admitted anger—highlights the tension between respecting autonomy and grappling with abandonment. For Cyrus, this philosophy transforms grief into a paradox: how to reconcile admiration for Orkideh’s artistic conviction with resentment for her withholding the truth and choosing death over their potential relationship.5. What role does technology play in mediating Cyrus’s emotional experiences in this chapter?
Answer:
Technology serves as both connective tissue and emotional barrier. Cyrus’s phone delivers devastating news (Sang’s voicemail) and becomes a tool for desperate verification (Googling Orkideh’s images). The “white rectangle” of the call screen symbolizes sterile modernity against his primal grief, while scrolling through photos allows delayed, mediated engagement with his mother’s face—a digital substitute for lost real-life connection. The reference to “death announcements you scrolled past” critiques how devices dilute profound experiences, yet Cyrus’s reliance on his phone underscores his isolation: it’s his sole conduit to Sang and to posthumous clues about his identity.
Quotes
1. “Seneca said grief should last no longer than seven years. Anything more was indulgent. Nazim Hikmet said twentieth-century grief lasted at most a year. It dwindled like that. Maybe twenty-first-century grief had gotten down to a fraction of that fraction, just a few hours before it was supplanted by necessity.”
This passage reflects on the evolving nature of grief in modern society, contrasting ancient and contemporary perspectives. It highlights the chapter’s meditation on how digital age distractions and rapid information flow may shorten our capacity for mourning.
2. “She lived for something. And she knew when she was done living. That’s not nothing.”
Sang’s poignant reflection on Orkideh’s suicide captures the complex duality of grief and respect for personal agency. This quote represents the chapter’s central tension between mourning a loss and honoring a deliberate choice.
3. “Was Orkideh my mother? It came out of his mouth like a bullet shredding through porcelain, shattering the partition between him and a great unacceptable.”
This pivotal moment reveals Cyrus’s shocking realization about his parentage. The visceral metaphor emphasizes how this revelation violently disrupts his understanding of his identity and past.
4. “She recognized you immediately, standing in line at the museum, all these years later. She hadn’t even known you were in America.”
This revelation about Orkideh’s instant recognition of Cyrus adds profound depth to their brief relationship. It underscores the chapter’s exploration of unseen connections and the persistence of biological bonds across time and distance.
5. “He studied her eyes. They were deep black but flashed with a brightness, like they held tiny fish that turn to catch the light on their scales. An incitement.”
This vivid description of Cyrus examining Orkideh’s photograph represents his search for identity and connection. The lyrical imagery captures the chapter’s theme of seeking oneself in another’s features and the electric potential of such discoveries.