ABSTRACT
Lack of clarity and understanding of why they were shipped away to boarding school remains the dominant theme in the stories of Saghi, Dory, Shirley and Roxane and to a lessor extent Sheila. They cloaked their fearful self with their Persian identity as 'good girls' and 'dutiful daughters' and strived to succeed as gratitude for the sacrifices that they believed their parents had made. Childlike in the vulnerability of their dependence and fear of complete abandonment, they wished only to please and in return to be cared for. They had concluded that by being good, they would be loved, and by being emotionally strong, they would survive. Saghi's displacement into a British family presented her with a culture shock, her initial excitement fading to frustration, settlement and ultimately acceptance towards all that she had been subjected to, including her loss of identity in becoming 'Sally'. Roxane laments not being with and connecting with her extended intergenerational family members.
