At first I had a hard time with the characters. Mehrunnisa, an intelligent head-strong young woman, has a hard time staying within her role in society. Of course that's a characteristic with which I am fond of. So why does she so easily fall for Prince Salim, simply for his looks and position? He's immature, conceited, and has no problem taking advantage of others simply because he's a prince. He even goes as far as plotting his father's death simply to be named emperor, yet he doesn't even take the time to learn from his father so that he too can be good leader.
Yet as the story moves on, Mehrunnisa and Prince Salim end up going in opposite directions. Mehrunnisa has opportunity to go after what she so desperately longs for, but stays true to honor instead. Prince Salim becomes a mature man, and although still glories in his position, takes seriously his role.
The most difficult part of the story was trying to relate to the characters. The culture is so unlike anything I know. If I was placed into it right now, I know I would be put to death within a day, if I was lucky. However, with an open mind, remembering that it is the only culture these people knew, I respected the way the women held themselves and interacted with their men.
In the end, I was happy with where the 2 main characters finally settled. I think it's a place that best represents their personalities and talents. And the best part is that it helped to open up the minds of the people of that time period to begin to understand that women are just as intelligent and capable as men...all though we all know there is still more work to be done in that regard.
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