PTSD In A Thousand Splendid Suns

“In World War One, they called it shell shock. Second time around, they called it battle fatigue. After ‘Nam, it was post-traumatic stress disorder.” - words spoken by Jan Karon in the novel Home to Holly Springs. Known as PTSD, this is a psychological issue that is triggered by a traumatic event. Khaled Hosseini explores this psychological disorder in A Thousand Splendid Suns. Through the characters, Nana, Laila, and Fariba, the novel shows how PTSD can be triggered in multiple ways.
One character who suffers from symptoms of PTSD is Nana. One symptom of PTSD is the feeling of detachment. Nana chooses to be detached from society, “Nana said she had refused to live in Herat…. in the village of Gul Daman, which sat on a steep hill two kilometers

north of Herat. She wanted to live somewhere removed, detached, where neighbors wouldn’t stare at her belly, point at her, snicker, or, worse yet, assault her with insincere kindnesses.” (8-9) She seems to suffer from paranoia, believes everyone will stare at her and judge her.

This detachment from society makes her feel very lonely at times and that her daughter, Mariam, is all that she has. However, Nana is scared to trust people in her life because two very important people have disappointed her, her father and Jalil. She hated her father when he was alive, she wishes he had killed her, “‘ I wish my father had had the stomach to sharpen one of his knives and do the honorable thing. It might have been better for me.’” (6-7) For her, death seems more promising than the life she is living. She also feels that Jalil has completely abandoned Mariam and she, “‘Rich man telling rich lies. He never took you to any tree. And don’t let him charm you. He betrayed us, your beloved father. He cast us out. He cast us out of his big fancy house like we were nothing to him. He did it happily.’” (5) Jalil has cast Nana and Mariam out of his life because he is embarrassed of them, he has made Nana feel completely worthless. However, Mariam does not

realize that she is not first in Jalil’s life and one day she visits his home in Herat. Nana feels that she has lost the one person she still has left and saw no escape other than suicide. “The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald. Mariam is Nana’s whole world and she feels that she last lost her. When Mariam returns to their kabul she finds Nana’s body hanging from a tree.
Laila loses her parents to an explosion, “Then Laila struck the wall.

Crashed to the ground. On her face and arms, a shower of dirt and pebbles and glass. The last thing she was aware of was seeing something thud to the ground nearby. A bloody chunk of something. On it, the tip of a red bridge poking through thick fog.” (194). Laila loses her father, Babi, the person she loves most in life. This is the first time Laila has truly seen death that will traumatize her for the rest of her life, “She murmured in her sleep. Sometimes she spoke gibberish, cried out, called out names Mariam did not recognize.” (199) She must quickly cope through Babi’s death and pretend she is grateful for her new husband, Rasheed, or he will be angry with her. Later in the novel, Mariam must sacrifice herself for Laila and she never forgets her old friend. Her psychological disorder is seen through her dreams of Mariam and their house with Rasheed in Kabul, “Laila has her own dreams. In them, she’s always back at the house in Kabul, walking the hall, climbing the stairs. She is alone, but behind the doors she hears the rhythmic hiss of an iron, bed sheets snapped, then folded. Sometimes she hears a woman’s low-pitched humming of an old Herati song. But when she walks in, the room is empty. There is no one there…. The dreams leave Laila shaken. She wakes from them coated in sweat, her eyes prickling with tears. It is devastating. Every time. It is devastating.” (381) Laila cannot escape her

thoughts of Mariam. “What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” - Helen Keller. While Laila has a beautiful life, children, a husband, wealth, and peace with her new home, she cannot forget the deep love of her friend that became a part of who she is.
Fariba, Laila’s mother is another victim of PTSD. Fariba has been through the war and the overtake of the Najibullah, and she feels hopeless for the future. She spends most of her days in bed, not taking care of young Laila. “When school let out, [Fariba] again didn’t show up like she was supposed to.” (113), Fariba is so depressed that she cannot get out of bed to pick her daughter up from school. However, Fariba loves her sons, Ahmad and Noor. The two have become soldiers and one day news comes that they have been killed. Fariba is torn apart when she hears the news and “was screaming and tearing at her hair”(138). One of the strongest motivations to stay alive in Fariba’s life has just been taken from her. To mend the pain Fariba begins to take medicines prescribed by doctors, “The ailments that would would hound [Fariba] for the rest of her days began. Chest pains and headaches, joint aches and night sweats, paralyzing pains in her ears, lumps no one else could feel.” (141). She begins making up physical illnesses so she can get medicines that she hopes will help her mental illness. She lays in bed all day and wears black constantly. She staggers through the house almost hoping to find her sons when she truly knows that they are gone forever. Fariba who had always been plump begins to lose weight in an unsettling way. Three years after their deaths, Fariba finally starts to become a happier person. The Najibullah surrender and the Mujahadeen go to Kabul. Ahmad and Noor fought with the Mujahideen and now that they have won Fariba can see peace in her life. Fariba rises from her bed “a new woman” (160). She takes off her black garments and puts on a blue dress (symbolizing hope). She cleans their house and takes a bath, both things she has not done in a long time. She even throws a party, she finally is happy again. However this high only lasts a period of time. The Mujahideen start fighting one another and war breaks out in Kabul. In desperation, Fariba changes back into black, goes into her room, shuts the curtains, and pulls the blanket over her head.
A Thousand Splendid Suns shows the effect trauma can have on a person. Suicide, intrusive thoughts, and depression are all shown in the novel. Hosseini portrays the disorder in a raw, true way. Although, there may be hope, trauma will never disappear if ignored. The disorder can kill a person or they can overcome it.