“Father, you gave me a real beating tonight.”

Hassan speaks these words at the end of “At the Time of the Jasmine.” Hassan has spent the day at the burial ceremony of his father, Hagg. Just before sleeping, Hassan thinks back on his relationship with his father and regrets not having spent more time developing it. Hagg never even got to meet Hassan’s daughter, Jasmine, nor did he fulfill his wish of making a pilgrimage with Hassan. While reflecting on these things and experiencing anger and grief, Hassan feels as if he has been beaten with his father’s staff. Hagg never actually beat Hassan with his staff—he would simply wave it at Hassan when he was a boy and threaten to beat Hassan if he was insubordinate. Tonight, Hassan is so emotionally devastated that he feels as if he has received a real beating.

Hassan had ignored his emotional life for so long that when he experiences loss and regret over his father’s death, he is completely unprepared. When Hassan says that he has been given a “real” beating, he feels as though he is being punished for his inaction. As a child, if he misbehaved, he would be threatened by Hagg and then be given the opportunity to change his behavior. This situation is different: Hassan does not have the opportunity to alter the past. His father is dead, so it is too late for Hassan to change the fact that he has ignored his father and failed to foster a relationship with him.