The Meaning Of Mariam In 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'

Rory Kopelson

Larson

English 10

24, April 2023

The Upbringing of Mariam A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseini, is a novel that takes place in Afghanistan from the 1960s to the 2000s. It illustrates the warring that the Afghans experience through the perspective of Mariam, a woman, born of illegitimate status, and sold into marriage at a young age. As well as Laila, a girl who has a loving father, and is also forced into marriage after her family has been bombed during the warring. The companionship and relations between the characters in the novel weaved the overall meaning of A Thousand Splendid Suns by showing the connections between the characters under the unfortunate circumstances in Afghanistan. Mariam’s terribly toxic childhood has a notable impact on Mariams sense of self and her relationship with others, overall leading to the tremendous impact she has on the storyline of A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Four year old Mariam is verbally abused by her mother, calling her a “A clumsy little harami,” and a disgrace to her family bloodline (Hosseini 4). Harami, in this context’s meaning is bastard, but it marks a child with a sin of being born, and an embarrassment to everyone else. This is a word that would haunt Mariam because she is seen as a plague to her families honor. Her toxic mother, Nana would constantly remind Mariam of this, and how Mariam is the reason Nana’s life turns to hell. Nana fills Mariam’s ears with lies and deceit about her father as well whom Mariam adored, saying that he didn't love her or care about her. She claims he wants her to “Live removed, detached,” from the rest of society (Hosseini 8). These toxic traits from Nana severely impacts Mariam’s relationship who became detached from her mother, and develops some of the same toxic traits as seen with her original interactions with Laila. This impacts the story because it causes Mariam to distrust the rest of the