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The Kite Runner Patriarchy Analysis

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Hosseini’s representations of female characters as strong and at the same time disposable can be justified by the setting and their social status. For one thing, patriarchy operates differently in different countries: there are significant differences between patriarchy in the United States and patriarchy in Afghanistan or Iran (Tyson 105). There are even within the borders of a single country some cultural differences that affect women’s experience of patriarchy (105). Hossieni is aware of such differences as he compares in the novel between two types of women: Afghan women who live in the Afghan society and are restricted by its rules, and Afghan women who live in America. He aims to show that traditional gender roles, stereotypical roles, …show more content…

This representation of America as the land of opportunity and freedom maybe the reason behind the criticisms Hosseini got as being biased to America. This attitude is illustrated through Amir who says, ‘For me, America was a place to bury memories’. It was an escape: a new beginning. Perazzo suggests that “It seems that women in this culture are free (within the bounds of their ability) to become members of whatever profession they choose” (7). He gives the example of Soraya, and other female characters, who are to some extent free to choose their career. Soraya, for example, defies the general’s wish of her becoming an attorney, and she insists that “teaching may not pay much, but it’s what I want to do! It’s what I love, and it’s a whole lot better than collecting welfare” (Hosseini 182). She is not silent and obedient like Afghan women in Afghanistan. In addition, Amir’s comments on the clothing of a woman he sees in the American Embassy make it clear that the burqa is part of the norm in Afghanistan, while women in America wear different clothes. He comments, “she wore a beige blouse and black slacks- the first woman I’d seen in weeks dressed in something other than a burqa or shalwar-kameez” (327). This sense of freedom even in the smallest details, presents clearly the difference between silent Afghan women in Afghanistan, and free Afghan women in

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