# XXXV explained — Veiled Women > Chapter companion for Veiled Women by Marmaduke Pickthall. ## What happens Barakah, distraught and determined to reach the El Afîfi cemetery to pray and die, wanders through the night with the donkey-boy Selîm. She encounters the bustling, fearful streets of Cairo after the English arrival, a brief rest in Selîm's mother's home, a terrifying encounter with robbers in the cemetery, and finally collapses from exhaustion on the plain below the citadel. She awakens to a mysterious, sweet voice. ## Themes in this chapter ### Religion and Conversion Barakah's prayer oscillates between Christian and Muslim forms, reflecting her tangled religious identity and desperation. ### Superstition and Tradition The fear of jinn, the belief in afrîtah (spirits), and the robbers' superstitious flight from Barakah's mad charge highlight the role of superstition. ## Character check-ins ### Barakah In a state of grief and desperation, she insists on going to the cemetery to pray and die, experiencing confusion, fear, and moments of madness. ### Selîm The donkey-boy who guides Barakah, tries to dissuade her from the dangerous night journey, and cares for her when she collapses. ## Key lines > Her prayer now took the Christian form, and now the Muslim; the two religions growing tangled in her tired mind. In her exhaustion, Barakah's prayers mixed Christian and Muslim elements, showing her confused faith. _Illustrates her spiritual turmoil and the blending of religious traditions._ > Their fear is of the English," said the donkey-boy. "Who knows what they will do by way of punishment?" Selîm explains that people are hiding their valuables out of fear of what the English might do. _Reflects the historical context of English conquest and the populace's anxiety._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/veiled_women_se/chapters/xxxv - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/veiled_women_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/veiled_women_se/chapters