Mariam is married off to a disgusting man named Rasheed and he mistreated her just like her mother treated her. Rasheed then gets another wife and things for Mariam and Rasheeds new wife, Laila , don't get off to a great start. Mariam is told to take Lailas orders, but upon one of Laila and Mariam's first conversations with each other Mariam gave a crude tone and let it readers know that “I was here first and I won't be thrown out” (225). Mariam believes that Laila will get rid of Mariam and this causes disagreement and tension between the two. Mariam later opens her eyes and realizes that Laila isn't an enemy and forgives Laila for trying to get her thrown out.
Supporters of his high school and around town take up the cause with a phrase that is graffitied on sidewalks and the town's walls: Rashad Is Absent Again Today. (p.165) Then Rashad is absent. and absent again.
“I admit to what I did, brother,” Mariam said, “But, if I hadn’t, he would have killed her. He was strangling her” (P365). This shows that Mariam is willing to take responsibility for her action she knew that there would be conscious, but she also knew that what she did was to save Laila and her children. Mariam’s actions would lead to this moment, “Kneel here, hamshira. And look down.”
But even though the consequences are harsh, Mariam knows that she has to follow through with it, for if she does not, Rasheed would kill Laila. She does not wish to kill Rasheed but Laila is one of the only true friends Mariam has ever had. Mariam does also not want to have one of the few people that bring her happiness, to be taken from her. These two acts demonstrate what it truly means to have courage, even in the hardest of times. Caring is something that seems to come rather naturally for both Laila and Mariam.
The war and prejudice against women in Afghanistan changes everything for Laura. Her parents die in a bombing and she is left to find her way and determine her fate by herself. Just like Mariam, she is married and like fate would have it, as a second wife by Mariam’s husband, Rasheed. Laila however bears two children for Rasheen unlike Mariam who has none and is treated much differently from Mariam. He compares her to a brand new first-class shiny Benz.
Her husband happens to become Rasheed. He finds Laila unconscious after a bomb went off, dissipating her entire family. Rasheed then takes her in and nurses her back to health. He feels that because he saved her, he should be rewarded, “The way I see it I deserve a medal”. Rasheed later practically forces her to have sex with him.
She knew how much of an abomination killing her husband would be to society, but she loved Laila enough to risk the punishment. Instead of running away from Kabul with Laila, Mariam stayed behind so that Laila would never get in trouble for killing Rasheed. She was then arrested and later shot for murder (371). Mariam sacrificed her own life so that Laila could marry Tariq and live happily and freely with her family. She gave up everything, even her life for those whom she loved, even though they biologically were not her children.
In this chapter, Foster discusses the importance of viewing a story from the perspective of the character. This accounts for fully understanding the character’s background and weighing that with the current occurrences. After taking into account Laila’s familial and religious background along with her new situation with Rasheed, this passage has a lot more weight. In the situation Laila is in right now, she likely feels repressed and alone. Because of this, she confides in her memories with Tariq.
Mariam sacrifices her freedom for Jalil by marrying Rasheed. In the novel, when the wives told Mariam they found a suitor for her, she tells Jalil to say something and he says “‘Mariam don’t do this to me’”(49). Even though Mariam did not want to marry Rasheed, she knew Jalil wanted her to and so she did, forever surrendering her freedom to him. Marrying Rasheed deprived Mariam of her freedom because when Rasheed tells Mariam “‘a woman’s face is her husband’s business only’”(70), it indicates that she is his and he controls her.
The day after this incident Mariam says to Laila “ They will find us, sooner or later they are bloodhounds. When they do, they’ll find you as guilty as me. Tariq too. I won’t have the two of you living on the run like fugitives.” (337-338).
Hosseini 104).When Rasheed forces Mariam to eat pebbles, he represents the corrupted person, or vampire, who only perceives his wife as an object that seeks to serve him and his relentless demands. After a while, Rasheed begins to look at Mariam as a burden that needs to be lifted off of his shoulders, so he tortures and abuses her, turning himself into a monster in the process. Furthermore, Rasheed does the same thing to his other wife, Laila, and his daughter. When Laila and Aziza attempt to escape, Rasheed is outraged, so he asserts his power when, “ [He] had not given them any food, and worse, no water. That day, a thick, suffocating heat fell on them.
However, after a long time of struggling against the society and the loss of her two sons in addition to that, her role as an ideal feminist challenger is no longer dominant. Much like Mariam, Laila is a victor. The difference between Mariam and Laila is Laila has been defying the norms of the culture throughout her life, unlike Mariam, who was submissive for the early years of her lifetime. Laila represents a hope for woman in the male dominated culture, as she goes on to escape from her abusive husband, finds happiness, pursues education, and contributes back to the society postwar. The male characters are also notable to observe from the novel because the patriarchal society, as well as for the comparison purpose.
When Mariam unexpectedly killed Rasheed, Laila was terrified by what had happened and Mariam “had Laila lie down, and, as she
When Laila and Rasheed marry, tension arises between Mariam and Laila. Laila later gives birth to a daughter, Aziza, Rasheed is displeased and suspicious. Mariam and Laila eventually become best friends. When Laila starts to get abused they plan to run away from Rasheed and leave Kabul. They caught at the bus station.
Rasheed however asks her to wear a burqa before going out. He makes it very clear to Mariam and later on to Laila, that a “woman 's face is her husband 's business only”. However when Mariam fails to bear a child, after several miscarriages, Rasheed begins to torture her both physically and mentally. Rasheed also becomes cross on Laila when she gives birth to a girl child. Later on Laila gives birth to a boy, but this does not improve her status in front of Rasheed.
