A Thousand Splendid Suns Feminist Analysis

The walls of a library enclose on thousands of novels that contain fictional and non-fictional stories, which depict the world outside the walls in some way shape or form. Each and every novel has a unique set of characters, themes, symbols and conflicts that are carefully intertwined together by an author attempting to give his audience a source of entertainment and an insight to the human condition. It is on the reader’s shoulders to correctly interpret the author’s message by analyzing it through a literary approach that best suits the novel. One of the novels in this vast library is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. In the novel, Hosseini uses the feminist approach to touch upon the relationships between men and women through
In the novel, Hosseini uses this to his advantage by creating two prominent relation types between men and women. Hosseini uses a prevalent theme of true love versus forced marriage to display the differences between a negative and a positive relationship. In the novel, Rasheed’s marriage with Mariam and Laila represents the negative side, as Rasheed never takes his wives to be his equals, which is evident through his mannerisms and actions. When Mariam is a newly wed wife of Rasheed’s, Rasheed begins to lecture her on how “ It embarrasses me, frankly, to see a man who’s lost control of his wife” (63). Here, Rasheed has warned Mariam how there relationship will be, with him in control. Later on, Rasheed tells Mariam, “A woman’s face is her husbands businesses only. I want you to
Do you understand?”(63). As he forces Mariam into wearing a burqa, which Mariam had no choice but to accept as “ This mans will felt to Mariam as imposing and immovable as the Safid-koh mountains looming over Gul Daman” (64). Later on in the novel, when Rasheed marries his second wife Laila, Rasheed begins the same process of establishing authority and command over Laila as he had done with Mariam. Rasheed tells Laila that “ I am your husband now, and it falls on me to guard not only your honor but ours, yes, our nang and namos. This is the husband’s burden.” (200) While Mariam watches the whole scene unfold as “ Rasheed’s demands and judgements rained down on them like the rockets on Kabul” (201). Rasheed’s relationship with his wives becomes a thing of violence and oppression causing Mariam to kill her own husband. This marriage is the direct opposition to the ideal marriage from a feminist stand point where both men and women would have equal say. In sharp contrast to Rasheed’s relationship, is Tariq’s love, which later on turns into marriage with Laila. This relation represents the positive side. Tariq was caring, loving and the complete opposite of Rasheed in every way possible. This is shown when Laila asks Tariq if they can move back to Kabul and