Headscarf Symbol Analysis

In the novel, a headscarf, which can be associated with many different ethnicities and religions, often suggests both working-class and Black culture in Northwest London. Its function of covering the head also symbolizes how the character of Shar remains a mystery to the rest of the world. When Leah initially tells her husband, Michel, and her friends like Natalie and Frank about Shar, she leaves out the detail that Shar was wearing a headscarf. This is because she senses that they will associate a headscarf with negative stereotypes and think that Leah displayed poor judgment by helping Shar—perhaps Leah even feels guilty about negative stereotypes that she herself holds about headscarves. When Lloyd looks at an old photo of the Garvey House squat where several people are wearing headscarves, he reminisces about how “fresh” everyone used to look back then, and some graffiti on the wall says “BLACK POWER,” showing how the headscarves are associated with pride.

Throughout the novel, Shar’s motivations and her background all remain mysterious, with Leah and the other people in her life constantly wondering whether Shar “deserves” charity. It’s fitting, then, that Shar’s headscarf covers her head, since the novel deliberately offers little insight into what’s going on inside Shar’s head or in her life in general. Because so many characters view Shar as a mysterious “other,” they never get to know her on a deeper level. They never get over their own stereotypes to see past the headscarf and to realize how a headscarf can be a symbol of pride and dignity. Ultimately, Shar’s headscarf represents the tricky questions of race and class identity that come up in Northwest London, illustrating how the same article of clothing can carry negative stereotypes for those who don’t understand, while symbolizing pride and solidarity for those who do understand.