"Girl" by Hanif Kureishi

'Girl' is a short story, which portrays a complex romantic relationship between a young woman and an older man. 'Girl' was written in 1999 by Hanif Kureishi, an English author. The story revolves around Nicole's relationship with Majid, where there understandably are some problems present, caused by the huge age gap. Nicole, a woman in the mid-twenties, has had a rough time growing up, after her father committed suicide when she was ten. After the suicide her mother switched from boyfriend to boyfriend, and Nicole was never cared for sufficiently.

However, Nicole is not stupid, and she went to university in London, and chose to leave the dark environment of her childhood, which is astonishing.

The title 'Girl' symbolises Majid's thoughts of his younger girlfriend. In the text it is apparent that Majid sees Nicole as a child and not a fully developed woman. The text reads: 'You've been to university, but things must have changed since my day' Majid himself values cultural knowledge most of all, which is seen by the thousands of books he owns, and he thinks that young people no longer are interested in themselves.

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Because of this Majid does not see her as a woman with beliefs and thoughts, because her cultural knowledge is lacking.

Nicole knows her youth plays a big part in Majid's love for her. The text reads: 'Sometimes when he has talking to his friends, she had no idea what they were discussing, and became convinced that if her ignorance didn't trouble him it was because he valued only her youth' Nicole is afraid of Majid leaving her when she gets older, as he already left a marriage to love Nicole instead.

Nicole feels like she is in debt to Majid, because she knows how tough it must have been to leave a wife and three children for a younger woman.

It is apparent that Nicole is very afraid of becoming like her mother. The text reads: 'Nicole didn't want Majid to think that she - half her mothers age - would resemble her at fifty.' Nicole is embarrassed by her childhood, and understandably she does not want to go back to the house where she was raised, because of the dark memories associated with that exact house. Moreover, Nicole is afraid of Majid thinking less of her, after meeting her mother and possibly finding some similar traits between Nicole and her mother.

Majid very well knows the strong influence he has over Nicole, and we see that he desires to control some aspects of Nicole's life. The text reads: 'Nicole hadn't wanted to visit her mother after all this time, but Majid, her older lover - it sounded trite calling him her 'boyfriend' - had persuaded her to.' Because Nicole is stronger now - after meeting Majid - he persuades her to reconnect with her mother and face the many suppressed thoughts and memories of the past. Majid does this because he is very aware of the fatherly role he plays in Nicole's life, and Nicole needs a fatherly figure, because she has lived most of her life without a father.