As a young bride, Nazneen is initially impressed with the apartment Chanu provides for her, basking in the beauty of the furniture that crowds the rooms. The cabinets and chairs are proof that she has come up in the world. In contrast, when Hasina first sets up house with Malek, they have only a bed, a few cane chairs, and a small chest. Thus it would initially seem that furniture is shorthand for status and, perhaps, even satisfaction in life. As the months and years pass, however, much of Nazneen and Chanu’s furniture falls into disrepair. Fixing the chairs is on Chanu’s to-do list, and Nazneen realizes that it is just one of countless projects he will never finish. Meanwhile, Hasina has moved into James and Lovely’s home where the furnishings are rich, expensive, and always in need of dusting—but their beauty is lost on Hasina because they belong to someone else. Razia, Nazneen’s closest friend in Tower Hamlets, begins her married life in an apartment crammed with furniture handed down from her husband’s white co-workers. Then, when Razia’s son, Tariq, succumbs to heroin addiction, he sells all her furniture. Never one to be defeated, Razia gradually purchases pieces that she loves with money she earns from her own sewing business. Furniture can crowd out a person’s desires, especially if that furniture is not of one’s choosing. On the other hand, because it comes of hard work and independent choice, it is a symbol of home, of roots put down and allowed to flourish.
Furniture Symbol Timeline in Brick Lane
