Bettina is a regular customer of Parvez. She is a prostitute, and Parvez drives her home nearly every night after she’s done working. Parvez talks more openly with Bettina than he does with his wife, and their relationship takes on the characteristics of an emotional affair. Bettina becomes Parvez’s confidant and main source of advice as he struggles to confront Ali and convince him to abandon his radical Islamic beliefs. Towards the end of the story, Bettina and Ali meet in Parvez’s cab, where she and her revealing clothing, flashy accessories, and fragrant perfume come to represent the Western culture of temptation, materialism, and enjoyment that Ali despises. When Bettina tries to advocate for Parvez by confronting Ali about his fundamentalist Islamic beliefs, Ali shames her for being a prostitute. Enraged, and hurt in what was a fight between a father and son, Bettina gets out of the car, and this is her final appearance in the story.
Bettina Quotes in My Son the Fanatic
The My Son the Fanatic quotes below are all either spoken by Bettina or refer to Bettina. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
My Son the Fanatic
Quotes
Parvez became aware of Bettina’s short skirt, gaudy rings and ice-blue eyeshadow. He became conscious that the smell of her perfume, which he loved, filled the cab. He opened the window.
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Bettina Quotes in My Son the Fanatic
The My Son the Fanatic quotes below are all either spoken by Bettina or refer to Bettina. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
My Son the Fanatic
Quotes
Parvez became aware of Bettina’s short skirt, gaudy rings and ice-blue eyeshadow. He became conscious that the smell of her perfume, which he loved, filled the cab. He opened the window.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
