Originally posted by: cappacuino5
Good idea! The problem with Ayesha is that the writers have never explored her character in depth. I think it is easy for all of us to construct a narrative for Basit, however, Ayesha is such an unexplored character that the writers really need to add dimensions to it.
At present she’s a well intentioned but slightly naive girl who wanted the hearts and flowers in a marriage (as one should) and when she couldn’t get those in the first few months, she formed a prejudice against her husband. Ayesha’s character looked so promising in the beginning but then the writers focused only on developing Basit’s character without realising that Ayesha’s needs to be developed in tandem for them to build a healthy relationship.
Obviously no complaints from Ushna, she really shines when given the opportunity but I wish she had a stronger role because she has the potential to carry that out.
I took the liberty of dividing your response into two parts...hehe...
So true what you write here about the lack of depth in the way Ayesha's character has been developed. I am constantly finding myself trying to imagine what could be going through her head because there is so little of it shown in the actual show itself.
We see her winning the medal at the very beginning of the story. She is excited about getting the scholarship. Clearly no one else in the household really cares about her continuing her studies. Her sacrifices are really drowned out in the general chaos of the Sadiq household. She is protective about Bano and Zoya, we see. But what about herself? She defends herself outside when she is up against the world but at home somewhere down the line, the burying of Ayesha's dreams is almost done invisibly.
"Middle child syndrome is the belief that middle children are excluded, ignored, or even outright neglected because of their birth order." Is this what we see happening with Ayesha? Bano and Zoya both declare at different times what they want and they are shown fighting for it in their own ways. Ayesha never does this. Rather she lets herself be sent down the path her family puts her on. Her loss of the scholarship as well as her getting married...both are decisions that are taken for her by her family and circumstances, and we see Ayesha dealing with it, adjusting to it and in the case of the job, succeeding in this new position life has placed her in. Perhaps she will do the same with the marriage...(Adding the perhaps because of the way things are in the show at present! 😆)
If Ayesha is indeed someone who has been going through the middle child syndrome, it makes sense that even as Basit's wife, she might find it easy to expecting to be ignored.
If we judge her behaviour against what google tells me are the character traits most seen among the middle child:
The first one is "To compensate for lack of attention, middle children usually either act rebellious or try to people please."
In the case of Ayesha, to gain attention from her parent, we have seen how she has a tendency to do the latter. The way she brings Zoya home when she catches her with Amir. We see that Ayesha actually approves of Qudsia's way of punishing Zoya. Later on also, we see how Ayesha always tries to speak up for Qudsia instead of criticising her the way we often see Bano doing openly.
Second one, "Middle children are also more agreeable and mild-mannered, since they must often compromise throughout life."
Of course, Ayesha is the quietest among the sisters. She argues the least, even when she is filled with emotions and wants to speak up before her family. When she refuses to return with Basit, even then her behaviour is tempered down and she is restrained in the way she expresses her emotions. When she had that outburst after Sadia's death, we were all shocked because Ayesha had always been the calm one, the least prone to emotional outbursts.
The article I was referring to had this to say on the ways in which the Middle Child syndrome might affect the individual even as an adult:
"If the middle child felt neglected throughout childhood, they might struggle with codependency or self-confidence issues. They might also excel at mediating conflicts in their personal or professional life."
I think Ayesha is definitely lacking in self-confidence in particularly areas where she is expecting emotional attachment directed towards her. She is so unsure of what value she holds in Basit's eyes that she takes it for granted that he only cares for her for what she can do for him. That he does not care for her as a person.
Anyway, I was trying to think if this can be a way for us to understand Ayesha a bit more since as you say, the show has left her such an opaque character.
And yes, Ushna does a fine job, but we need a bit more telling in this case. The "showing" of he character is leaving things too open ended.
And the article I referred to: Link
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