Olivia the Nawab
Right from the first time they met Olivia seems to be attracted to the Nawab.
The first encounter took place at the Nawab’s palace, wher he gave a dinner party. This party had a special meening for Olivia because it was her first chance to really escape boredom and lonelyness.(see page 19)
Her happiness in that moment is expressed in the sentence “She felt she had, at last in India, come to the right place” (p.19. l.29).
But Olivia did not only like the palace, but the Nawab gave her something she was missing, since she moved to India, he was admirering her and gave her the feeling to be very attractive.(compare p.21-22 ll.28-3)
The sentence “After this party, Olivia felt better about being alone in the house all day”, serves to illustrate the importance of that party, because it seems to have changed her whole life.
Page 22 contains some more references to Olivia starting to somehow fall in love with the Nawab. On the one hand Olivia starts to dress up each day only because she thinks that the Nawab will come sometime and on the other hand she starts to get really excited (plays the pinao faster l.19) when she finally hears his car approach.
After the Nawab’s visit, during which Olivia seems to have a great time, Olivia is extremly excited in the envenig whereas she usually is bored to tears.
This extrem change of mood is shown in the hyperbole “..for a moment he feared she had a fever” (page 23 l.23).
Her desire for seeing the Nawab again is perfectly illustrated in the way Olivia is disappointed when Douglus turns down the invitations of the Nawab and how hard she argues with him about it.
Before tha Nawab and Olivia have a picnic together Olivia goes to visit the Begum with Mrs. Crawford but she doesn’t pay a lot of attention to their conversations but instead aks several times whether they won’t see the Nawab anymore.
Is this the beginnig of a secret and forbidden lovestory? We will see…
by Paula
