*A Thousand Splendid Suns--Week2.

As the reader encounters Part II of A Thousand Splendid Suns, a new character, Laila, is introduced. Laila serves as a sort of duplicate to Mariam, as both girls have many characteristics and events in life in common. Although Laila has two brothers, she is technically an only child in that she lives alone with her mother and father because Laila’s brothers are older and in the war. Mariam, too, is an only child, just like Laila, which makes the personalities and effects of parental influence upon the girls more distinct. Before Mariam wed, she wished to obtain an education, but Mariam’s mother disagreed, and believed that “woman [didn’t] need an education.” Laila also wishes for an education, but unlike Mariam, Laila’s family is supportive of Laila learning and acquiring an education. Laila and Mariam both have mothers with a “sickness.” Mariam’s mother had “jinn”, which was a mental illness that caused seizure whenever Nana was stressed or upset. Laila’s mother, too, has a similar condition in that Mammy stays in bed throughout the entire day “under the covers” in a “dark room” and sleeps until “three in the afternoon.” Since neither women show any “physical signs” of ailment, the reader can conduce that the illnesses are caused from displeasure in life. While both characters mothers are laggards, Mariam and Laila both turn to their father for support and guidance. Jalil is a character that symbolizes the “outside world” for Mariam, and Laila’s father is the one that guides Laila to an education. The comparing personalities of Mariam and Laila impose the reader to question importance of their kindred relationship.

The dysfunctional relationship between Jalil & Nana and Fariba &Hakim illustrate the iniquity of forced marriages. Fariba and Hakim portray the relationship that was forced into marriage, and are now unhappy together, causing Fariba an illness that was all in her head. With the relationship between Jalil and Nana, Hosseini depicts the wrongdoings of forced marriages by not being with each other. If Jalil would have not married the other nine women, perhaps Jalil would have married Nana and Nana would still be alive. Hosseini also conveys the transgression of forced marriage in the unhappiness of both Mariam and Rasheed.

Mariam and Rasheed depict a struggling relationship, with many ups and downs. In the beginning, Mariam was unsure of the nexus between the two, but after becoming pregnant the relationship between Mariam and Rasheed blossomed. Mariam was so excited that “everywhere she looked,” Mariam saw “bright colors” as if a “rainbow had melted into her eyes.” Rasheed, too, was filled with gratitude “drumming his gloved fingers and humming a song.” However, by now the reader realizes that with every positive event in the story is followed by a wretched occurrence. The elation shown from the pregnancy foreshadowed the miscarriage that Mariam had in the “hamam.” Mariam then had a miscarriage “six more times in four years.” The miscarriages symbolize Mariam’s inability to be nurtured, therefore not able to nurture something herself. The miscarriage also foreshadows the displeasure that Rasheed has in the marriage, leading to the violence and abuse towards Mariam and forcing her to “chew” the “mouthful of grit and pebbles.”

“Endurance” is a recurring motif throughout A Thousand Splendid Suns, along with the color green. The color green and endurance coordinate with each other, in that the color green symbolizes feelings of endurance. In the first reading, Nana told Mariam that “to endure” is “all that women have.” As Mariam grows up, she begins learning the importance of endurance. The snow that falls upon the road during the time of the miscarriage signifies the “sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman” somewhere in the world, and how “we must endure all that falls upon us.” Mariam occurs the motif of endurance again when burying the “blue coat” that was meant for her baby. The burial not only contributes to the motif of endurance, but also symbolizes how Mariam is able to “bury” her past and move on, whereas Rasheed is not able to. Signs of Rasheed failing to move on are shown with the picture of his wife and child in his room and also refusing to be a part of burying the coat.

The color green strengthens the motif of endurance in the characters of Mariam and Laila, as both characters encounter the color green multiple times in the novel. Mariam has “green eyes” and when living with Jalil, Mariam’s room is “green” suggesting how Mariam must “endure” the death of her mother and the new living arrangement. When Mariam gets married, she has a “green veil” showing the endurance she must undergo in order to adjust to her new life yet again. Not only does the green symbolize stamina, but also youthfulness, as Mariam was very young when each event took place in her life. Thus far, the reader denotes the “green eyes” of Laila as signifying the nexus between Mariam and Laila. Yet, the reader does not know thus far what the connection will be between Mariam and Laila.