The New Ma

"Ma is most definitely not the same. She insists on wearing that purple coat everywhere, even though it's warm out. And she doesn't walk behind Abba as in the old days, but gently leads him along while he gets his strength back."

Ch. 16 pg. 142

I am happy that Ma has finally gotten adjusted to life in America. I think it helped that her husband was taken away and she had to think for herself more. It helped both Ma and Nadira, actually. I think that the purple coat was the thing that started Ma's new independence, and that's why she doesn't want to take it off. I think that she feels that she won't be strong enough if she takes it off, even though I'm pretty sure she will be. In the beginning, the coat was like a personality that she was hiding behind, and pretending she had, but now she actually has that personality, and she can take the coat off. She has also probably become very attached to it, because it was the one person belonging she had to take comfort in while her family was away from her.