Examples Of Betrayal In A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Father's Betrayal of Their Daughter
Betrayal isn’t unusual to face throughout life and can be from those we least expect. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, many characters face betrayal in some way. Mariam was not an exception to this because her own father would limit where he was seen with Mariam to her home away from the city. This behavior would ultimately lead to Mariam having to endure a complete stranger's actions for many years. In the novel, Jalil visited his daughter Mariam weekly, Though these visits were isolated from the general public since he was concerned about his self-image. This adds to the novel's overall meaning as it illustrates the unfair treatment women face in Afghanistan, especially those

Mariam had turned fifteen in the spring of 1974 and there was one thing she wanted from Jalil. For him to take her to Herat to see the cartoons at his cinema, both Nana and Jalil weren’t approving of this idea. But Mariam was persistent and Jalil agreed and would send someone to pick her up. Though she wanted Jalil to take her personally and be part of the family for once. Mariam began to realize something was wrong when, “it was almost one o’clock. He’s a businessman, Mariam thought. Something had to come” (Hosseini 30). The significance of Jalil not showing up shows Mariam that he might not be all that she had believed Jalil was. Though at this point she was still in denial that Jalil would betray her like that and not take her to his cinema. Nana had warned Mariam that he isn't the perfect person she thinks he is. Mariam disregards these warnings even with the threat of the “jinn” coming upon Nana resulting in her death. Mariam sets out for Herat and crosses the stream for the first time. When she arrives she realized that Nana was wrong about how people would treat her in public. She was another ordinary person going

Women have few rights and things available to them in the country. If there is a conflict between a man and a woman, the woman is who receives the blame even if it wasn’t their fault since they are seen as inferior. On top of that some are born illegitimate like Mariam and face even more hardships for things then again out of their control. Through the actions of men such as Rasheed or Jalil this important meaning is expressed. This is to spread awareness to the reader that while it seems obvious that men and women should have equal rights, some countries don’t believe in the idea. Following more traditional beliefs where women take on household responsibilities while men provide for their families