A Thousand Splendid Suns (pg. 302-371)

Characters:

1. Zaman: orphanage director, friendly, caring, hopeful, gentle, reassuring, kind

Notes:

* Rasheed's store burns down, and as a result they have to sell everything that they own.

• After the fire, Rasheed was home almost every day. He slapped Aziza. He kicked Mariam. He found fault with Laila, the way she smelled, the way she dressed, and the way she combed her hair, her yellowing teeth." (304)
• The women's lives become even harder at this point, and Rasheed treats them even worse.

* "And then he was on Laila, pummeling her chest, her head, her belly with fists, tearing at her hair, throwing her to the wall. Aziza was shrieking, pulling at his shirt; Zalmai was screaming too, trying to get him off his mother. [...] 'I swear you're going to make me kill you, Laila'" (305)

* Jalil came to see Mariam in the spring of 1987, but she had refused to see him. She made him sit outside and beg to see her, just as she had the day that she had come to his house to see him.

• "Mariam regretted her foolish, youthful pride now. She wished now that she had let him in. [...] He'd not been a good father, it was true, but how ordinary his faults seemed now, how forgivable, when compared to Rasheed's malice, or the brutality and violence that she had seen men inflict on one another." (309)
• Time has changed her perspective on the past. Unlike her mother, who remained bitter until the day she died, Mariam has forgiven the faults of those who have mistreated her in the past. She has matured and learned to be grateful for the little things in life.

* Mariam calls Jalil for money as a last resort because her family is starving. She finds out that he died in 1987, shortly after he had come to see her.

• She feels remorse and a deep sadness at the news of his death. Despite all of the negative things that she had associated with him and her past, at hearing the news, Mariam only thought of the good and happy times she had shared with him. She is not bitter or happy at all, but feels regret for not having handled the past differently.

* Laila is forced to take Aziza to an orphanage because Rasheed can no longer afford to feed and support the family.

• "Laila had not found the strength to tell Aziza the truth. She had told her that she was going to a school, a special school where children ate and slept and didn't come home after class." (314)
• "Laila marveled at Aziza's grace, Aziza's vast capacity for forgiveness, and her eyes filled. Her heart squeezed, and she was faint with sorrow..." (314)
• Both Mariam and Laila promise to visit her. Leaving Aziza at the orphanage is obviously the hardest thing that Laila has had to do in her life, but she does it knowing that she will be provided with a life there that Rasheed can no longer provide. Laila does it out of her love for Aziza.
• Laila: "I'm ashamed. What kind of mother abandons her own child?" (318)

* Laila and Mariam go to see Aziza on a regular basis, but Rasheed refuses to go in, and only allows the women 15 minutes. Mariam, Laila and Zalmai all miss her terribly.

• Mariam is "disconsolate over Aziza's absence, though as always, Mariam chose to cradle her own suffering privately and quietly" (320)

* After a while Rasheed refuses to go anymore. Since it is illegal for a women to go out without a male, Laila is forced to try to avoid Taliban (and the possibility of a sever beating) every time she goes to see Aziza now.

• "If she was lucky, she was given a tongue-lashing or a single kick to the rear, a shove to the back. Other times, she met with assortments of wooden clubs, fresh tree branches, short whips, slaps, often fists." (321)
• Every time Laila leaves the house she risks her own health and well-being to see Aziza. She is very determined and loves her child very much.
• "But, usually, Laila refused to cave in. She made as if she were going home, then took a different route down side streets. Sometimes she was caught, questioned, scolded--two, three, even four times in a single day. Then the whips came down and antennas sliced through the air, and she trudged home, bloodied, without so much as a glimpse of Aziza." (321)

* Zaman teaches the children in the orphanage (illegally), and Aziza always talks excitedly about the new things she learns when Laila visits. She talks constantly, and does her best to reassure Laila that she is doing fine and is relatively happy there.

* Tariq randomly shows up at Rasheed's house one day to see Laila

• "A choking noise came up her throat. Her knees weakened. Laila suddenly wanted, needed, to grope for Mariam's arm, her shoulder, her wrist, something, anything, to lean on. But she didn't. She didn't dare. [...] Laila stood perfectly still and looked at Tariq until her chest screamed for air and her eyes burned to blink. And, somehow, miraculously, after she took a breath, closed and opened her eyes, he was still standing there." (327)
• She was under the impression that Tariq had died, so she cannot believe that he is standing in front of her.
• He had not died, and had not lost both of his legs, the entire story told to her by Abdul Sharif had been a lie (fabricated by him and Rasheed). Rasheed had paid the man to lie to her so that Laila would marry him and forget about Tariq.

* Laila is ashamed by her appearance when she sees Tariq.

* Tariq now lives in Pir Panjal, Pakistan. He and his family had spent a year in a refugee camp outside Peshwar after their escape from Afghanistan. His father died the first winter there. He got caught trying to smuggle drugs across the border for money, and got sent to prison for seven years. His mother died while he was in prison.

* Seeing Tariq again brings back a hope that Laila hasn't felt in a long time. All of the suffering that she has gone through in the 10 years that they have been separated melts away.

* When Rasheed finds out that Tariq had been to the house (Zalmai tells him), he beats her with a belt. Laila fights back, and Mariam jumps on him as well (joint effort to defend Laila).

• "Had she been a deceitful wife? she asked herself. A complacent wife? A dishonorable wife? Discreditable? Vulgar? What harmful thing had she willingly done to this man to warrant his malice, his continual assaults, the relish with which he tormented her?" (346) --> Mariam's thoughts as she fights back against him
• Rasheed grabs Laila's neck to strangle her, Mariam tries to pry his fingers away and can't, and then goes to the shed in the yard to grab a shovel.
• "Mariam saw that she was no longer struggling. He's going to kill her, she thought. He really means to. And Mariam could not, would not, allow that to happen. He'd taken so much from her in twenty-seven years of marriage. She would not watch him take Laila too." (348)
• Mariam hits Rasheed across the head with the shovel, and then does it again (killing him).
• "And so Mariam raised the shovel high, raised it as high as she could, arching it so it touched the small of her back. She turned it so the sharp edge was vertical, and, as she did, it occurred to her that this was the first time that she was deciding the course of her own life." (349) --> IMPORTANT POINT < --

* "Mariam's face looked thin and drawn in this light, but she did not appear agitated or frightened, merely preoccupied, thoughtful, so self-possessed that when a fly landed on her chin she paid it no attention. She just sat there with her bottom lip stuck out, the way she did when she was absorbed in thought." (352)

• Rather than panicking after she kills Rasheed, Mariam simply sits there thinking. She is calm, collected, and for the first time in a very very long time...not fearful. She is the one that makes the decision to move Rasheed, she becomes Laila's support system and tries to comfort and reassure her. All the while, Mariam is collected, assertive and very motherly. Laila, on the other hand, is rather frantic and scattered.
• "They would make new lives for themselves--peaceful, solitary lives--and there the weight of all that they had endured would lift from them, and they would be deserving of all the happiness and simple prosperity they would find." (354)
• Rasheed's death allows for hope of a better future for the women. They have been freed, and the hope of happiness has been able to re-enter their lives/minds.

* Laila feels shame and grief over the murder/death of Rasheed, but not because she will miss him or because she feels he deserved any less. The reason for her shame and grief is her son. Laila knows how much Zalmai loved his father, and she feels terrible for depriving him of that relationship and happiness.

* Both women understand, although Laila tries to deny it, that they cannot all leave. Someone will have to stay behind, and Mariam immediately knows it will be her. She offers herself up as a martyr so that Laila, her children and Tariq will be able to move on and live a happy life.

• "Laila went on a stammering rant. She bargained. She promised. She would do all the cleaning, she said, and all the cooking. [...] 'Don't do this, Mariam. Don't leave me. Don't break Aziza's heart.'" (357)
• Mariam: "Think like a mother, Laila jo. Think like a mother. I am." (358) --> Laila is a mother, and as such she needs to think not only about herself, but the future of her children. Mariam has no children, although Laila and her children are basically like family. Nobody is completely dependent on her, therefore she will be the one to take the blame. Mariam also feels terrible for the grief that Zalmai will feel, the grief that she imposed on him by killing his father.
• Mariam: "For me, it ends here. There's nothing more I want. Everything I'd ever wished for as a little girl you've already given me. You and your children have made me so very happy. It's all right, Laila jo. This is all right. Don't be sad." (358)
• Mariam is selfless, confident and authoritative in this moment. Despite the extreme hardships she has endured, she only sees the happiness that she was blessed to have in the form of Laila and her children.
• "And in the end, when the words dried up, the tears did not, and all Laila could do was surrender and sob like a child overwhelmed by an adult's unassailable logic. All she could do was roll herself up and bury her face one last time in the welcoming warmth of Mariam's lap." (359)

* After some more begging on the part of Laila, the two women part forever.

* Mariam is taken to the Walayat women's prison. Women in prison still mostly wear bruqas, but by their own choice and in order to avoid the stares and attention from the male guards. Prisoners are not provided with food by the jail, and must get it from outside sources. The conditions are very poor. Most of the women are there for running away from home (an offense punishable by imprisonment).

• Because Mariam is one of the few women in jail for a violent crime, the women treat her differently. However, instead of being scared of here, many of the women revere her. They fight for the chance to share their food or blankets with her. She is almost seen as a hero by many of them.
• Another woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for trying to escape with the man she loved, who in turn claimed that she had put a spell on him and seduced him with her charm when they were caught.
• Mariam is reminded of something her mother had said to her: "Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam." (364)

* Mariam openly admits to being guilty

• Talib man at court: "I wonder. God has made us differently, you women and us men. Our brains are different. You are not able to think like we can. Western doctors and their science have proven this. This is why we require only one male witness but two female ones." (365)
• Nobody believes, or cares, when Mariam claims it was out of self defense and in order to save Laila. Since there were no witnesses, nothing can be proved.
• After her sentencing, which is death, she is lead out and made to sign a paper accepting the judge's decision. He shows her compassion, but tells her he is not the one to judge her, God is, and according to his words (the Shari'a), she must die as well.

* Mariam is taken to the Ghazi Stadium in order to carry out her sentencing.

• When asked by a friendly guard if she is afraid, she responds, "Yes. I'm very afraid." (368) Afterwards, he tells her that fear is nothing to be ashamed of. Even the bravest of men feel fear when it comes to death.
• "Earlier that morning, she had been afraid that she would make a fool of herself, that she would turn into a pleading, weeping spectacle. [...] But when she was made to descend from the truck, Mariam's legs didn't buckle. Her arms did not flail. She did not have to be dragged. And when she felt herself faltering, she thought of Zalmai, from whom she had taken the love of his life, whose days now would be shaped by the sorrow of his father's disappearance. And then Mariam's stride steadied and she could walk without protest." (369)
• Mariam stays strong until the moment of her death. She does not pity herself or feel bitter about the sentencing. In fact, in many ways she feels as if she deserves her fate simply for the unhappiness that she has brought on Zalmai. She takes responsibility and admits what she did was wrong, although she would not change her actions if she had a chance to go back and do it again. She does not feel regret, but does feel guilt.
• "Though there had been moments of beauty in it, Mariam knew that life for the most part had been unkind to her. But as she walked the final twenty paces, she could not help but wish for more of it. [...] Mariam wished for so much in those final moments. Yet as she closed her eyes, it was not regret any longer but a sensation of abundant peace that washed over her. [...] No. It was not so bad, Mariam thought, that she would die this way. Not so bad. This was a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate beginnings." (371)
• She is shot and killed in front of thousands of people watching in the stadium.

Observations/Overview:

Times become even harder for the family in this section. The occupation continues, and in many ways gets worse. The new hope associated with the rise of the Taliban is quickly dashed. Women virtually no longer have any rights, much less the right to work and bring in extra money for the family. As a result, Laila is forced to take Aziza to an orphanage in order to save her and the rest of the family from dying of starvation. Rasheed becomes less and less caring, and he refuses to do anything for the women of the family. His only treasure, and the one thing that Rasheed continues to give his attention to is his son Zalmai. He basically forgets Aziza, and forces Laila to risk beatings by the Taliban if she wants to leave the house to see her daughter. The re-appearance of Tariq comes as a surprise. It becomes known that Rasheed had hired the man to come and tell Laila that Tariq was dead, yet further proof of his manipulation and evilness. Although in many ways things become worse, hope is regained in this section. It starts with the emergence of Tariq, continues (for Laila and her children at least) with Rasheed's death, and is felt by Mariam shortly before she is executed.

Mariam takes on a somewhat new role in this section. Rather than being more or less a companion or best friend, she takes on a much more motherly role. She is the one that takes the initiative to kill Rasheed and end their fears. She is also calm and collected afterwards, thinking logically and coming up with a plan afterwards. Mariam explains what must be done with resolution, and puts Laila and her children before herself. When Laila begs her to reconsider, Mariam does not waiver despite her fears. She holds the family together, and becomes Laila's support system. Rather than sharing responsibilities with regards to the decision making, Mariam steps up and asserts her place as the eldest and as the head of the household. That said, she is fearful of death. She does not welcome it, although she accepts responsibility and accepts her punishment. She does not feel sorry for herself, although feels regret that she will not be able to see Aziza and Zalmai grow up and help them along their journey. Mariam feels the worst about depriving Zalmai of his father, whom he obviously loved dearly and looked up to a great deal. She knows how difficult it is to grow up without a father or one of your parents, and can relate to the pain that he will feel. After her decision to take the fall for the murder of Rasheed, she reflects heavily on her past. She regrets the way she acted towards her father when he had come by shortly before his death. She has learned to forgive, and regrets that she could not earlier. She changes immensely throughout her life, and is a completely different person at her death than she was at the beginning of the novel. Throughout her entire life she has been essentially held prisoner in one way or another, and it is in death that she is finally able to find freedom. As she points out, killing Rasheed is the first decision about her life that she has actually ever been able to make. She continues to exercise this freedom until the moment she is shot in the stadium.

Laila, who has been the strong one who never seems to let anything get to her, becomes the childlike figure in need of guidance. Although she continues to be stubborn and to not relent to staying in the house and abandoning Aziza despite all the beatings she goes through to reach her, after Rasheed's death, she seems lost. Not because she does not know how to live or go on without him, but because she knows that everything cannot be fixed. Laila is devastated at the thought of not having Mariam in her life anymore, and does not want to accept Mariam's decision to play the martyr. She feels terrible about the loss of Mariam, and also about the loss of the father figure in Zalmai's life. Like Mariam, she feels guilty for depriving him of his father and the happiness associated with their father-son relationship. She finds herself in a situation so foreign and confusing to her, that she does not know what to do. Tariq's emergence brings a new light to her life, although it is painful at the same time. She does not know how to react, although it is clear that she still loves him. Laila is torn between her responsibilities as a wife and good Muslim woman, and her feelings for Tariq. In the end, she is forced to say goodbye to Mariam and start a new life.