A Couple Fearless Females
The novel, A Thousand Splendid
Suns, exemplifies many literary theories. The easiest and largest theory to
point out in the novel is feminism. The two main protagonists in the story,
Laila and Mariam, go through a lot of criticism in their respected culture of
Afghanistan. While battling gender discrimination in the cruel society of
Afghanistan, the two protagonist females, Laila and Mariam, encounter and
overcome many hardships throughout the novel, supporting Hosseini’s message of
when facing adversity, women’s strength and perseverance prevails.
Males are the biggest fear of women in the novel. They are portrayed as
horrible, inconsiderate people who possess a love, hate relationship with women.
They fight with them and force them to do what they desire, but they also
contain a caring side as well. The character that battles and struggles the most
throughout the novel is Mariam. In the beginning of the novel, before her
mother, Nana, commits suicide, she tells Mariam, “Like a compass needle that
points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman” (Hosseini 7). This
quote is set throughout the entire novel because the men in the story always
blame and abuse a woman before a man. When Zalmai, Laila and Rasheed’s son, is
introduced, Rasheed treated him like gold, unlike he treated Aziza, Mariam, and
Laila. “There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life,
and they don’t teach it in school… Only one skill. And it’s this: tahamul.
Endure… It’s our lot in life, Mariam. Women like us. We endure. It’s all we
have. Do you understand?” (Hosseini 18-19). This quote is set early as well, but
it stays with Mariam forever. Mariam and other women live by this because they
are physically or emotionally hurt by men all the time, whether it is family or
not. They endure the pain and suffering that males inflict upon females’ rights
and freedom. They force women to have sexual intercourse, to wear burqas in
public, to hide from men that come into a house, and to marry men they do not
wish to. Once her mother hangs herself, the hardships of feminism are introduced
into the novel. Her father and his wives choose a husband, Rasheed, who is a lot
older than her, and force Mariam to marry him. Throughout the marriage, Mariam
endures multiple beatings and suffers verbal harassment from him, something
Rasheed would not do to any male. Soon, Rasheed returns with a handful of
pebbles and forces Mariam’s mouth open and stuffs them in. He then orders her to
chew the pebbles. In her fear, she does as he asks, breaking the molars in the
back of her mouth. He tells her, “Now you know what your rice tastes like. Now
you know what you’ve given me in this marriage. Bad food, and nothing else,”
(Hosseini 94). Because Mariam cannot become pregnant with a son, Rasheed becomes
more furious every day. He is tired of trying and failing because of her, so he
forces her to chew pebbles. She takes this excruciating pain and feels violated
once again. In the final fight with Rasheed against Laila and Mariam, Mariam
plays a big role and sticks up for women by murdering Rasheed with a shovel.
“And, with that, Mariam brought down the shovel. This time, she gave it
everything she had,” (Hosseini 349). This final battle concludes that women may
not be stronger than men, but she stands up for her gender. It shows that she
grows internal strength towards men after many times of struggling to battle for
her rights and freedom. Laila views Mariam a lot different, as she looks up to
Mariam the whole novel, even during the period of time when they fight.
Laila faces many hardships with males in the novel as well. Just like
Mariam, she is downed upon by males. She thinks her life would positively change
by marrying Rasheed because he would take care of her incoming child with Tariq,
who is the only man in the story who treated a woman with respect. In the
beginning, everything is going well, but then Rasheed turns to his evil self
again. “You try this again and I will find you. I swear on the Prophet’s name
that I will find you. And if I do, there isn’t a court in this godforsaken
country that will hold me accountable for what I still do. To Mariam first,
then to her, and you last. I’ll make you watch. You understand me? I’ll
make you watch.” (Hosseini 243) This quote reflects how cruel Rasheed is,
and he is mean to all women. He was the cruelest to Mariam, but he shows here
that he will criticize Laila as well. At the end of the story, however, the
gender discrimination decreases after Mariam kills Rasheed. The story continues
with Laila and Tariq as Afghanistan starts to build as a stronger, better
culture for women. Laila shows that she becomes better in the society by being a
teacher. Later in the 70s, the Afghan government establishes girls’ schools and
later institutes a new constitution that introduces a democratic framework and
grants Afghan women the right to vote (Levi 4). Even after that, women’s rights
are still terrible in Afghanistan today. The girls continue to go to school, but
nine out of ten women fear the departure of the international community,
thinking that their lives will significantly deteriorate, and most of the women
report domestic abuse (McVeigh). It is sad to say that women will continue to
struggle for their rights and freedom, with or without Taliban control.
Hosseini’s message remains consistent throughout the novel. The women of
Afghanistan do not ever gain physical strength and perseverance against males;
they become braver on the inside, which can beat them in any type of abuse. Both
female protagonists impede through many conflicts throughout the novel in the
battle for their rights and freedom. They grow so much individually and
collectively, and they overcome their worries about males. By the end of the
novel, they become new people with no worries. The battle of feminism may never
stop in Afghanistan, and A Thousand
Splendid Suns perfectly shows that due to the never ending war of females
and males.
The novel, A Thousand Splendid
Suns, exemplifies many literary theories. The easiest and largest theory to
point out in the novel is feminism. The two main protagonists in the story,
Laila and Mariam, go through a lot of criticism in their respected culture of
Afghanistan. While battling gender discrimination in the cruel society of
Afghanistan, the two protagonist females, Laila and Mariam, encounter and
overcome many hardships throughout the novel, supporting Hosseini’s message of
when facing adversity, women’s strength and perseverance prevails.
Males are the biggest fear of women in the novel. They are portrayed as
horrible, inconsiderate people who possess a love, hate relationship with women.
They fight with them and force them to do what they desire, but they also
contain a caring side as well. The character that battles and struggles the most
throughout the novel is Mariam. In the beginning of the novel, before her
mother, Nana, commits suicide, she tells Mariam, “Like a compass needle that
points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman” (Hosseini 7). This
quote is set throughout the entire novel because the men in the story always
blame and abuse a woman before a man. When Zalmai, Laila and Rasheed’s son, is
introduced, Rasheed treated him like gold, unlike he treated Aziza, Mariam, and
Laila. “There is only one, only one skill a woman like you and me needs in life,
and they don’t teach it in school… Only one skill. And it’s this: tahamul.
Endure… It’s our lot in life, Mariam. Women like us. We endure. It’s all we
have. Do you understand?” (Hosseini 18-19). This quote is set early as well, but
it stays with Mariam forever. Mariam and other women live by this because they
are physically or emotionally hurt by men all the time, whether it is family or
not. They endure the pain and suffering that males inflict upon females’ rights
and freedom. They force women to have sexual intercourse, to wear burqas in
public, to hide from men that come into a house, and to marry men they do not
wish to. Once her mother hangs herself, the hardships of feminism are introduced
into the novel. Her father and his wives choose a husband, Rasheed, who is a lot
older than her, and force Mariam to marry him. Throughout the marriage, Mariam
endures multiple beatings and suffers verbal harassment from him, something
Rasheed would not do to any male. Soon, Rasheed returns with a handful of
pebbles and forces Mariam’s mouth open and stuffs them in. He then orders her to
chew the pebbles. In her fear, she does as he asks, breaking the molars in the
back of her mouth. He tells her, “Now you know what your rice tastes like. Now
you know what you’ve given me in this marriage. Bad food, and nothing else,”
(Hosseini 94). Because Mariam cannot become pregnant with a son, Rasheed becomes
more furious every day. He is tired of trying and failing because of her, so he
forces her to chew pebbles. She takes this excruciating pain and feels violated
once again. In the final fight with Rasheed against Laila and Mariam, Mariam
plays a big role and sticks up for women by murdering Rasheed with a shovel.
“And, with that, Mariam brought down the shovel. This time, she gave it
everything she had,” (Hosseini 349). This final battle concludes that women may
not be stronger than men, but she stands up for her gender. It shows that she
grows internal strength towards men after many times of struggling to battle for
her rights and freedom. Laila views Mariam a lot different, as she looks up to
Mariam the whole novel, even during the period of time when they fight.
Laila faces many hardships with males in the novel as well. Just like
Mariam, she is downed upon by males. She thinks her life would positively change
by marrying Rasheed because he would take care of her incoming child with Tariq,
who is the only man in the story who treated a woman with respect. In the
beginning, everything is going well, but then Rasheed turns to his evil self
again. “You try this again and I will find you. I swear on the Prophet’s name
that I will find you. And if I do, there isn’t a court in this godforsaken
country that will hold me accountable for what I still do. To Mariam first,
then to her, and you last. I’ll make you watch. You understand me? I’ll
make you watch.” (Hosseini 243) This quote reflects how cruel Rasheed is,
and he is mean to all women. He was the cruelest to Mariam, but he shows here
that he will criticize Laila as well. At the end of the story, however, the
gender discrimination decreases after Mariam kills Rasheed. The story continues
with Laila and Tariq as Afghanistan starts to build as a stronger, better
culture for women. Laila shows that she becomes better in the society by being a
teacher. Later in the 70s, the Afghan government establishes girls’ schools and
later institutes a new constitution that introduces a democratic framework and
grants Afghan women the right to vote (Levi 4). Even after that, women’s rights
are still terrible in Afghanistan today. The girls continue to go to school, but
nine out of ten women fear the departure of the international community,
thinking that their lives will significantly deteriorate, and most of the women
report domestic abuse (McVeigh). It is sad to say that women will continue to
struggle for their rights and freedom, with or without Taliban control.
Hosseini’s message remains consistent throughout the novel. The women of
Afghanistan do not ever gain physical strength and perseverance against males;
they become braver on the inside, which can beat them in any type of abuse. Both
female protagonists impede through many conflicts throughout the novel in the
battle for their rights and freedom. They grow so much individually and
collectively, and they overcome their worries about males. By the end of the
novel, they become new people with no worries. The battle of feminism may never
stop in Afghanistan, and A Thousand
Splendid Suns perfectly shows that due to the never ending war of females
and males.