Bala & Malhun as mothers on the quest for brides for their sons. Just some thoughts.
I think both have issues in the midst of what appears to be and what is their son’s choices in women.
Alladins hearts arrow is pointed at Gonca
Orhans arrow has already landed in Holafira. Both parents know this.
The issue for Malhun is holofira is a Christian, born with a silver spoon in mouth as she sees it & thus not fit to carry the burden of the establishment of the state that can arise for Orhan.
The issue for Bala is, Gonca has some shady parents whose characters she doesn’t trust nor wants to be entangled with via * as it doesn’t spell peace for her son, or the family at large.
What do they do?
Malhun: runs with her presumption’s & sidelines Holofira, ignores Orhan or shuts down his attempts to speak freely about her to her. She somewhat abuses her position of knowing he won’t side line her as his mother, but rather seeks & needs her acceptance. She lines up brides for him & picks who she deems right, then relies on her delusion that if he gets to know the girl, Orhan may see sense & choose her. She acts like a high school mean girl flexing her power as a parent with ultimate authority, to holofira, by rubbing her bride choice & intent in her face. She also diminishes any good things she’s seen regarding holofira & continues to cancelling her out even at the expense of her own manners slipping.
My conclusion: Malhun is convinced she knows it all & best, thus seems to want & needs to control the outcome.
Bala: listens to her concerns but chooses to investigate them. She draws Gonca in, to see “if she’s raised like her mother, or if she’s as decent as she looks/appears” (paraphrased)
She talks to her son encouraging that he opens up regarding his desires to her. When Aladdin swerves it, she lets it go giving him an unconvinced glare. She invites Gonca to be exposed more & more to her, she makes her naturally feel welcome by acknowledging her, as she gathers personal data on her. & she then takes stock of the data, that supports Gonca.
Results: Bala understands nuance, & thus wants to make an informed decision based on the facts.
Over all Results so far:
Balas treatment of Gonca creates cognitive dissonance in Gonca. We see that her heart is true to good character & Aladdin, but her mind is burdensomely in service to her mother’s attempt to pimp her out as a spy. Gonca thus oscillates between doing the right thing, whilst being expected of the worst.
Malhuns treatment of holofira, misses all of the cues that holofira is actually a good person who desires her acceptance. She misses the clue that holofiras loyalty is already with Orhan, since she helped assist his escape from the byzantine castles dungeons, without any internal conflict about it or hesitance. That Holafira had his back when he was injured & protected him not leaving his side. Malhuns missing of all this, & understanding that islamically it is halal/allowed for him to marry holofira. Lands her in bed with a potential spy, thus exposing her poor sense of judgment. & unwittingly creating problems for son she would never dream of.
As a mother of 2 sons, & understanding of the concerns of both mums, regarding their sons. I align more with balas approach.
I don’t believe in shutting something down due to presumptions alone. While it is generally better for ppl to marry ppl within the same religion because of risks of fundamental principle’s differing to the point of causing instability in some cases. Character is also important as that’s what keeps such risks at bay.
Malhun giving holofira a fair shot doesn’t mean she ignores her concerns, it just means she allows her concerns to be watered by actual evidence instead of just judgement.
That all said I love the story lines as they’re unfolding & wouldn’t change a thing. I love to see what happens gradually. Since we all know historically holafia does become the first sultana of the Osmani state.
That comment from Osman to Boran “We will die beys boran, but our children will be sultans” was beautiful.
The aysima girl seems like a plant & I think Gonca will have a role in her exposure. Tension between them seemed very icy.
Lastly, I love Malhun & Balas relationship even as they navigate relationship issues to do with their kids. They listen to each other, share opinions & don’t step on each others toes. Bala doesn’t agree with Malhuns resistance against holofira but she respects & understands her concerns. They have brilliant supportive friendship that doesn’t enable negatives in each other to exist.
