Nana In A Thousand Splendid Suns

1.

Elizabeth from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is bright, direct, and unapologetic. Throughout the novel she proves to have her aspirations and goals clear and will not settle for any less. She refuses proposals from men in high places who would more than likely rise her hierarchal status, simply because the men would not make her happy. Austen makes it very clear that Elizabeth sets herself apart. When Darcy and Bingley are discussing what makes a woman accomplished, Elizabeth is quick to refute this claim because she, “never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance.”(Austen) Lizzy is typical in that she is a self-acclaimed woman who is “not like other women” but like all humans, she is susceptible to the effects

Nana has faced her share of prejudice and disapproval with being ill with “jinn” and also giving birth to a “harami” this child out of wedlock instantly changed the way the world saw her, now she is doomed to be thought of with nothing but shame. The most tragic thing is that Nana herself believed this herself she even, “wished my father had had the stomach to sharpen one of his knives and do the honorable thing. It might have been better for me.”(Hosseini) This way of thinking is not endemic though. Pride and Prejudice addresses the same dismal reality that comes with relationships out of wedlock when Lydia and Wickham decide to run away and elope. Instantly this becomes the latest scandal. Not only are people taking badly of Lydia but the entire Bennet name. Elizabeth is almost embarrassed to be associated with her and Mr. Bennet refused to bring her back into the house, even just to visit. Both authors incorporated these relationships into the plot to show how dynamic the institution of marriage can be. Both cases involved illegitimate relations and both received backlash, especially from relatives. Also in both cases the women received harsher criticism than that of the men in the relationship, demonstrating that misogynistic tendencies have been an issue as old as

Take Netherfield and Longbourn for example. Bingley’s stay at Netherfield was uncertain from the beginning, from the start of the novel he makes it clear that his stay may or may not be short lived. This parallels his relations with Jane. Although it is apparent that he enjoys Jane’s company but he is a gentleman of high regard and it is not in his best interest to marry someone who is below him in social hierarchy similarly it is not in his best interest to be living in Netherfield estate for very long. He comments that he is found of the country and its people but for business, London is much more practical. Longbourn also relates to the Bennet’s societal position. They are not as wealthy as Bingley so they do not have the luxury of living in London but they are simple good-humored people of simple tastes. Likewise, Kabul, Mariam and Lailas place of residence, shared its hardships with Laila and Mariam. Kabul was war torn with blood spilled on its streets despite the tragedies its endured it manages to be the welcoming place where Laila feels most at home. Laila, like Kabul, has withstood loss, heartbreak, abuse, but still somehow emerged with her true self, unchanged. Despite experiencing an earthly amount of dismay in Kabul Laila understood that Kabul was her home and she could not abandon it even when she was happily married and safe in