A Thousand Splendid Suns Changes Essay

The Changes of Mariam
Changes occur dramatically throughout the book, “A Thousand Splendid Suns” written by Khaled Hosseini. Mariam, the protagonist of the story, experienced many traumatic, horrifying, life changing events that shaped her into who she is today. Growing up with a father figure who was ashamed to take her out in public, mother committing suicide, father sending her off with a man she did not know, having multiple miscarriages, being verbally and physically abused by her husband, along with having to share her husband, it was hard for her to maintain a positive mindset. A plot twist occurs over halfway throughout the book that lifts Mariam’s spirits and transforms her into a loving and selfless character that many strive to

be.
Growing up, Mariam lived with her mother. She was very sheltered as she never left the kolba with her. With her mother verbally abusing her, and making her feel like she was a burden to her, Mariam did not have a high self esteem. Her mother always called her a harami, which Mariam finally learned the meaning behind, “a harami was an unwanted thing: that she, Mariam, was an illegitimate person who would never have legitimate claim to the things other people had, things such as love, family, home, acceptance” (Hosseini 4). With her mother’s harsh ways, speaking out about her problems or confronting her mother when she said vulgar sayings to her was not in the books, she always kept her voice to herself. Mariam’s mother shaped her to how others would treat her in the future and how she would act towards the situation. With Mariam never growing up with a father figure, it was difficult for her to know how a man should properly treat a woman. She had an illusion in her mind of what he was really like. When faced with her mother’s death and father sending her off with a man she didn’t know, Mariam never stood up for herself. She was crushed an in total utter shock. Finally, reality hit as she was faced to be with a man who did not treat her right.
Mariam and Rasheed were finally getting along, she was more comfortable with him, they would have conversations at dinner, and go out on the town regularly.

Once Mariam got pregnant, their relationship sparked even more, which led to Mariam’s to become happier and strayed her away from thinking about all the hardships she had encountered in her life. As all these events where playing out, Mariam’s spirits were lifted and for a moment, she thought to herself that maybe, after all, that all the unfortunate events that happened in her life, worked out for the better. That everything happened for a reason. Her roller coaster ride of uplifting spirits soon took a sharp turn as she had her first miscarriage. Unlike other husbands, most would care for their spouse as they endure this traumatic event. After all, there was nothing Mariam could have done to prevent this, yet, she still got blamed for the miscarriage which made her feel even worse than she already was. As it states in A Thousand Splendid Suns, “In the four years since the day at the bathhouse, there had been six more cycles of hope raised then dashed, each loss, each collapse, each trip to the doctor more crushing for Mariam than the last. With each disappointment, Rasheed had grown more remote and resentful” (Hosseini 99). At this point, Mariam reminisced on when she was growing up wishing she would have never left her mother in hopes that she would still be as happy as she once

was.
One major constraint that stopped Mariam from getting out her her position with Rasheed and her unhappy lifestyle, was her location and time period. Starting in Afghanistan in the 1960’s, leading up to the 2000’s, women did not have many rights. It got even worse when the Taliban took over. Women then had no rights and food was harder to come by. If Mariam had tried to flee her household alone, the Taliban would have beaten her on the spot. Due to this, Mariam could never leave and destress from all the conflict and yelling in her household.
Later on in the story, there was one other occurrence that really sent Mariam to the edge. As a young beautiful women named Laila became Rasheed’s second wife. Mariam felt betrayed, hopeless, as Rasheed soon picked the beautiful Laila over her. Laila could have children, which made Mariam even more envious of her. Mariam’s spirits kept declining as she saw the bond that Laila and her child Aziza shared, which she wanted ever so badly of her own. Every scenario that look place was out of her hands, which left her feeling hopeless and shot down. A turn of events happened shortly after, which led to the friendship of Laila and Mariam. This uplifting experience changed Mariam for the better. She soon became very close with Laila and her daughter Aziza, and got to experience motherhood as if the child were her own. As Mariam cared for Aziza, she developed a sense of belonging that she had never felt before. With Laila and Aziza around, Mariam always had company, she started to embrace her life and looked forward to waking up in the morning to be greeted by them both. After all, Mariam never had a close bond with anyone besides her mother and Mullah Faizullah. Despite having both of those relationships, she never had someone there that experienced everything she is going through and could relate with her on that level. Spending extended amounts of time with Laila, Mariam developed a friendship and love that she never dreamed would be possible. Lastly, Mariam did the one job that no women should ever think to do in Afghanistan at that time. She killed Rasheed. Instead of trying to hide it and move on with her life, Mariam owned up to her mistakes, she didn’t want to set a bad example for Aziza or Zalmai. By this time in the story, it goes to show how dramatically Mariam’s character has developed. She would have never stood up for Laila or herself and killed Rasheed. This goes to show the impact of Laila and how much their friendship meant to her, she was willing to confess and take her life because of her and her children. All she wants is what's best for them.
It is clear, that Mariam’s character changes dramatically by all the life changing events that take place in her life. As Mariam grew up, she never got the chance to stand up for herself, she got walked all over her whole life until certain people came into her life and changed her for the better. From her mother’s suicide and her father sending her off with a middle aged man, Mariam had no say in the events that took place in her life. She got shot down over and over again when having a baby and had no support when it was taking place. Her life seemed to be spiraling downhill until a much needed character came in play. Laila. Without her Mariam would have never developed the traits that she left the story with. Mariam finally stood up for herself, thought about other’s lives and put them before herself, took risks in the chance of getting herself in trouble to defend her loved ones, and create a genuinely beautiful bond with Laila and her children.