Princess Jeeta Character Analysis in The Buddha of Suburbia

Jeeta is Anwar's wife. She was a princess in India who joined Anwar in London after their lavish wedding. Jeeta helps Anwar with the grocery store and cooks Karim all his favorite foods when he comes to visit. After Anwar's hunger strike, Jeeta's relationship to her husband changes. Though she continues to feed and care for Anwar, she stops cooking his favorite foods and becomes cruel and distant. She even remodels the store without telling Anwar. Karim believes that Jamila's feminist theory introduced Jeeta to the fact that she could enjoy power in her marriage.

Princess Jeeta Quotes in The Buddha of Suburbia

The The Buddha of Suburbia quotes below are all either spoken by Princess Jeeta or refer to Princess Jeeta. 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:

The lives of Anwar and Jeeta and Jamila were pervaded by fear of violence...Jeeta kept buckets of water around her bed in case the shop was firebombed in the night. Many of Jamila's attitudes were inspired by the possibility that a white group might kill one of us one day.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Jamila, Anwar, Princess Jeeta

Page Number and Citation: 56

Explanation and Analysis:

Karim explains why Jamila felt the need to learn martial arts and says that it was for practical purposes, not just for fun. By setting Anwar's grocery store against a backdrop of fear, Karim gets at the idea that the success of Anwar's business is constantly threatened by racist violence. This shows that the success of immigrants in England in general is tenuous and contingent on simply not being a target for the perpetrators of violence. When compared to the success of Dad or Karim, Anwar certainly experiences more financial success, while Dad and Karim live safer and happier lives. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error.

But as the days passed I watched Jeeta's progress. She certainly didn't want to go home. It was as if Jamila had educated her in possibility, the child being an example to the parent.

Related Characters: Karim (speaker), Princess Jeeta, Anwar, Jamila

Page Number and Citation: 172

Explanation and Analysis:

As Karim spends time with Anwar and Jeeta, studying Anwar so he can turn him into a convincing character for Pyke's play, Karim also watches Jeeta as she finally discovers power in her marriage. Jeeta's transformation over the course of the novel suggests that culture marches on regardless of what tradition (as represented by Anwar) says—his rampant conservatism isn't enough to take on the new scholarship that Jamila reads about and then speaks to her mother about. In this way, Karim begins to humanize Jeeta and see her as embarking upon her own journey of coming of age in which Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sun

Princess Jeeta Character Timeline in The Buddha of Suburbia

The timeline below shows where the character Princess Jeeta appears in The Buddha of Suburbia. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Racism, Success, and Identity Theme Icon

...on Saturdays, where Dad met Mum. Though Anwar kissed women, he was already married to Jeeta, a princess. Not long after Jeeta arrived in England Anwar won money betting. He tried... (full context)

...ten, Dad discovered Eastern philosophy and fell in love with it. When Karim's family visited Jeeta and Anwar on Sundays, Anwar teased Dad mercilessly about it. Both Anwar and Mum treated... (full context)

Social and Political Discontent Theme Icon

...Mum and Dad will murder each other. The following Saturday, he bikes to Anwar and Jeeta's shop to escape. Karim peers through the window and doesn't see Anwar, which is unusual.... (full context)

Karim finally enters the shop and greets Jeeta. Jeeta asks him to take Jamila on a walk and won't answer his questions about... (full context)

...martial arts, which isn't out of character—her neighborhood is brimming with violent neo-fascist groups, and Jeeta keeps buckets of water in case the shop is firebombed at night. Anwar didn't like... (full context)

...refused. She explains to Karim that she would've left right then if Anwar didn't hit Jeeta, and she leads Karim back to the shop. She makes Karim a kebab and then... (full context)

Karim and Helen accompany Jeeta and Jamila to the airport to pick up Jamila's new husband. His name is Changez,... (full context)

...turned out to be able to sleep sitting. Anwar's despair soon became obvious. Karim, like Jeeta and Jamila, laughs at Anwar, but nobody is willing to say it's his own fault... (full context)

...and when Changez was silent, Anwar insulted Changez's manhood. Changez had rushed at Anwar, but Jeeta put herself between the two men. (full context)

...and bikes to the shop to see him. The store looks grubby and sad, and Jeeta no longer bothers to wash off the racist graffiti. When Karim arrives, Jeeta hugs him... (full context)

...Anwar and listens to him complain that Allah has abandoned him. He also complains that Jeeta won't return to India with him. Karim watches Jeeta and sees that she appears to... (full context)

After Karim and Eleanor finish work for Eva, Karim goes to spend some time with Jeeta and Jamila. He finds Anwar in a sorry state: he smokes, drinks, and doesn't work.... (full context)

...be touching her at last. Later that night, Changez, Jamila, and Karim drink beer in Jeeta's flat. Karim considers Anwar and Jamila's relationship: she'd gone from a child to an uncooperative... (full context)

...apartment as a gift for Changez and Jamila. He picks up Indian takeout and passes Jeeta's shop in his taxi on the way to the commune. Changez answers the door with... (full context)

Changez talks about how he's renovating Jeeta's store and asks Jamila for a kiss. Karim hears Jamila oblige unhappily and wonders if... (full context)

...new Prime Minister. Changez and Shinko arrive around midnight, and Changez talks at length about Jeeta's shop. (full context)

Princess Jeeta Character Analysis

Princess Jeeta Quotes in The Buddha of Suburbia

Part 1, Chapter 4 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 11 Quotes

Princess Jeeta Character Timeline in The Buddha of Suburbia