A Thousand Splendid Suns Analysis

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini takes place in Afghanistan, from the mid 1960’s to early 2000’s. It follows the life of Mariam, the illegitimate child of a rich businessman. A child bride, she is abused by her husband, and eventually attempts to flee her city, Kabul, during the Civil War and the regime of the Taliban. While the events of A Thousand Splendid Suns are not relatable to many people living in countries such as the United States and Canada, readers are able to connect the events of Mariam’s life to real life situations happening in the Middle East and parts of Africa.
After her mother commits suicide, Mariam lives with her father for a short time, while he and his wives secretly arrange a marriage between Mariam and
The fourteen year old is forced to accept his marriage proposal, as she is pregnant with the child of her (now deceased) friend, and lover, Tariq, and the fact that the ongoing war makes it too dangerous for girls to be alone.
Once again, the aspect of polygamy, specifically polygyny (one man married to more than one woman), is largely practiced in the Middle East and Africa. While many nations allow polygamy, only 10-25% of the men in those nations practice polygamy. Women forced into marriage often end up in polygynous marriages, like that of Mariam and Laila. They have little say in their lives and are forced to quit school and have multiple children. Despite the fact that A Thousand Splendid Suns is a work of fiction, there is something very tangible about Mariam’s story. It is a story that could be about any of the 700 million women today who were child brides, or a story of one of the 150 million girls that will become child brides in the next decade (ICRW). This story is moving, because it could very easily have been a biography. Millions of girls in developing countries have the same story as Mariam and Laila. That is why this story has such a profound