Khaled Hosseini, the author of “A Thousand Splendid Suns” was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father was a diplomat in the Afghan Foreign Ministry and his mother taught Farsi and history at a high school in Kabul. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is a novel set in Afghanistan from the early 1960s to the early 2000s. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is an example of a bildungsroman, which is “a novel dealing with one person 's formative years or spiritual education (Wikipedia).” Mariam is one of two female protagonists. Mariam was born out of wedlock to a rich and married businessman and his former housekeeper. Mariam 's shame being an illegitimate child makes her unable to stand up for herself. I will use Chapter 3, "Vampirism" , Chapter 8 ,"Hanseldee
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“There was a moment of hesitation, and then his hand was on her neck, his thick fingers slowly pressing the knobs in the back of it. His thumb slid down, and now it was stroking the hollow above her collarbone, then the flesh beneath it. Mariam began shivering. His hand crept lower still, lower, his fingernails catching in the cotton of her blouse (Hosseini 44).” This interaction between Mariam and Rasheed shows a small weakness that Rasheed may have for Mariam. In “Its Greek to Me” from chapter 9 of “How to Read like a Professor”, the author talks about Achilles. Achilles is a small weakness in a strong man. “The need to maintain one’s dignity: Achilles (Foster 42).” Chapter 11 of “A Thousand Splendid Suns” also states, “"There is no shame in this, Mariam," he said, slurring a little. “It’s what married people do. It 's what the Prophet himself and his wives did There is no shame. “A few moments later, he pushed back the blanket and left the room, leaving her with the impression of his head on her pillow, leaving her to wait out the pain down below, to look at the frozen stars in the sky and a cloud that draped the face of the moon like a wedding veil ( Hosseini 45).” The fact that Rasheed didn’t lay there and comfort his wife while she was in pain, shows that he got what he wanted and left her. Rasheed felt he had to maintain his dignity as man and not be a supportive …show more content…
Mariam’s name means somethings that played a vital role in her character throughout the book. The texts states,” There are many different opinions on what the name Mariam means. Hebrew sources say it means “bitter”, others say it means, “Wished for child”, and others say it means “Our Lady” (QuarnicNamecom).” Throughout the book Mariam struggled to conceive. She had multiple miscarriages and a non-supportive husband, who was very discouraging. One of the meanings of the name Mariam is “Wished for Child” and Mariam wished for a child throughout her whole marriage. Her lack of support and encouragement from her husband later lead to her being bitter, which is also a definition for the name Mariam. Mariam was put through spousal abuse and through it all, it worsened her as a person. Another true meaning for the name Mariam was, “you desire to create harmony in your associations, and you can be too candid in your expression, especially if you are challenged by others (Kabalarians).” Mariam was afraid to tell Rashid anything throughout their marriage because of what he may say or do to hurt her. Mariam’s name identifies her in the world as a lady, who has “a desire to please and a friendly nature that could draw you into the sales field
“There was a moment of hesitation, and then his hand was on her neck, his thick fingers slowly pressing the knobs in the back of it. His thumb slid down, and now it was stroking the hollow above her collarbone, then the flesh beneath it. Mariam began shivering. His hand crept lower still, lower, his fingernails catching in the cotton of her blouse (Hosseini 44).” This interaction between Mariam and Rasheed shows a small weakness that Rasheed may have for Mariam. In “Its Greek to Me” from chapter 9 of “How to Read like a Professor”, the author talks about Achilles. Achilles is a small weakness in a strong man. “The need to maintain one’s dignity: Achilles (Foster 42).” Chapter 11 of “A Thousand Splendid Suns” also states, “"There is no shame in this, Mariam," he said, slurring a little. “It’s what married people do. It 's what the Prophet himself and his wives did There is no shame. “A few moments later, he pushed back the blanket and left the room, leaving her with the impression of his head on her pillow, leaving her to wait out the pain down below, to look at the frozen stars in the sky and a cloud that draped the face of the moon like a wedding veil ( Hosseini 45).” The fact that Rasheed didn’t lay there and comfort his wife while she was in pain, shows that he got what he wanted and left her. Rasheed felt he had to maintain his dignity as man and not be a supportive …show more content…
Mariam’s name means somethings that played a vital role in her character throughout the book. The texts states,” There are many different opinions on what the name Mariam means. Hebrew sources say it means “bitter”, others say it means, “Wished for child”, and others say it means “Our Lady” (QuarnicNamecom).” Throughout the book Mariam struggled to conceive. She had multiple miscarriages and a non-supportive husband, who was very discouraging. One of the meanings of the name Mariam is “Wished for Child” and Mariam wished for a child throughout her whole marriage. Her lack of support and encouragement from her husband later lead to her being bitter, which is also a definition for the name Mariam. Mariam was put through spousal abuse and through it all, it worsened her as a person. Another true meaning for the name Mariam was, “you desire to create harmony in your associations, and you can be too candid in your expression, especially if you are challenged by others (Kabalarians).” Mariam was afraid to tell Rashid anything throughout their marriage because of what he may say or do to hurt her. Mariam’s name identifies her in the world as a lady, who has “a desire to please and a friendly nature that could draw you into the sales field