Mara, Daughter of The Nile

Mara, Daughter of the Nile tracks the awakening conscience, both political and interpersonal, of the eponymous heroine, who moves gradually from cynical self-interest to empathy, idealism, and self-sacrifice. At the start of the novel, Mara has been enslaved her entire life, most recently by a jewel merchant and his wife who starve her and whip her for trivial infractions. Never having had friends or a family of her own, the 17-year-old Mara feels no emotional ties or loyalties to anyone around her. A partial exception is Teta, a bitter older woman also enslaved in the household, who is, if not a friend, at least Mara’s partner in suffering. Though gifted with great charm, Mara uses her skills to manipulate people, such as a local baker whose wares she steals to feed herself and Teta. Her ambitions are initially focused on gaining freedom and wealth. When the dangerous Nahereh offers to free her if she successfully spies for him at the royal court, she has no initial qualms, as notions of political justice and injustice have no place in her own fortunes as another person’s “property.” Her difficult origins explain her cynical position that the powerful care nothing for people like her and she therefore rationalizes her decision to use the powerful figures in her life just as they use her.