Conclusion

Hosseini's use of imagery and symbolism in A Thousand Splendid Suns creates a vivid picture of the lives of women in Afghanistan during the Taliban. He allows us to visit their world, by explaining to us what matters most to them, freedom and love. In this excerpt specifically, we see that both Laila and Mariam value each other very much, and we see how distraught Laila becomes when she is not able to see Mariam's face, “Laila wished she could see her face, but Mariam was in burqa they both were and all she could see was the glitter of her eyes through the grid,"(258). The imagery in this excerpt highlights that they communicate on a deeper level, through the unspoken words written on their faces. This bond is broken by the burqa that they are both forced to wear, which in this case, is symbolic of the oppression of women. The burqa is a fabric barrier between them and their fundamental rights. Not only does this particular sentence highlight the oppression of the burqa, but it also highlights the bonds women can form with one another. The dire circumstances of the Taliban brought Laila and Mariam closer together. They only have each other and their shared experience of oppression for a large majority of the novel.

Hosseini does an excellent job of portraying the struggles and triumphs of Laila and Mariam. When Laila pawns her ring, it is symbolic of her taking control of her life. The ring is symbolic of her ties to Rasheed, so selling it is her way of giving up those ties. Hosseini chooses the wedding ring as the object to sell purposefully. Laila is giving up her life with Rasheed, so that she and Mariam can finally be free from physical and emotional abuse. Another very important symbol that Hosseini uses in this section is Aziza. The burqa and the wedding ring are both symbols of their oppression and hunt for freedom. Mariam and Laila both want to be free to make their own choices, and while it was only Laila who eneded up finding her freedom, the struggle these women is a very real sociopolitical issue that Islamic women often face. While both of these women searched for their freedom, they always found comfort in the love they did find. Aziza was the biggest purveyor of love in both of their lives. To Laila, she is her last connection to her former life, to Rasheed and happier times. To Mariam, she is the only person who loves her unconditionally. Aziza is the child that Mariam never had, and the love she has never before received. Aziza is who the two fighting for, so she may live a life free of pain. Yet the biggest connection is between Laila and Mariam; without one another they may have never been able to find their way to freedom. Hosseini uses the bond between Laila and Mariam to highlight the struggles of women living under Islamic laws, as well as the power of female connection and love.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Passage Thirteen (Chapter 36 – pages 258-259)

In the backseat of the taxi, they did not speak. Aziza sat on Mariam's lap, clutching her doll, looking with wide eyedpuzzlement at the city speeding by. 

"Ona!" she cried, pointing to a group of little girls skipping rope. "Mayam! Ona"

Everywhere she looked, Laila saw Rasheed. She spotted him coming out of barbershops with windows the color of coal dust, from tiny booths that sold partridges, from battered, open fronted stores packed with old tires piled from floor to ceiling.

She sank lower in her seat.

Beside her, Mariam was muttering a prayer. Laila wished she could see her face, but Mariam was in burqa they both were and all she could see was the glitter of her eyes through the grid.

This was Laila's first time out of the house in weeks, discounting the short trip to the pawnshop the day before where she had pushed her wedding ring across a glass counter, where she'd walked out thrilled by the finality ofit, knowing there was no going back.

All around her now, Laila saw the consequences of the recent fighting whose sounds she'd heard from the house. Homes that layin roofless ruins of brick and jagged stone, gouged buildings with fallen beamspoking through the holes, the charred, mangled husks of cars, upended,sometimes stacked on top of each other, walls pocked by holes of every conceivable caliber, shattered glass everywhere. She saw a funeral procession marching toward a mosque, a black clad old woman at the rear tearing at her hair. They passed a cemetery littered with rock piled graves and ragged shaheed flags fluttering in the breeze.

Laila reached across thesuitcase, wrapped her fingers around the softness of her daughter's arm.