Theme Of Spousal Abuse In A Thousand Splendid Suns

Spousal Abuse Spousal abuse is a serious and a recurring theme in A Thousand Splendid Suns. In the novel, Mariam is continually beaten and raped by her husband Rasheed. Rasheed forces Mariam and Laila to do unthinkable things. The abuse that they endure is verbal, physical, and sexual. If marriage is supposed to be an everlasting bond, then why would anyone do something like that to their, so called “loved one”? Physical abuse is a very common pain inflicted upon Mariam in the book. For instance, on page 104, it states,”His powerful hands clasped her jaw. He shoved two fingers into her mouth and pried it open, then forced the cold, hard pebbles into it”. This isn’t the only example of the physical pain that Rasheed causes Mariam. At the end of chapter 36 Rasheed says,“You try this again and I will find you. I swear on the Prophet’s name that I will find you. And, when I do, there isn’t a court in this godforsaken country that will hold me accountable for what I will do” (272).

Her husband happens to become Rasheed. He finds Laila unconscious after a bomb went off, dissipating her entire family. Rasheed then takes her in and nurses her back to health. He feels that because he saved her, he should be rewarded, “The way I see it I deserve a medal”. Rasheed later practically forces her to have sex with him. He does not physically make her consent but she knows that if she refuses then he will not support her unborn baby, “Laila quietly reached beneath the mattress for the knife she had hidden there earlier. With it, she punctured the pad of her index finger. Then she lifted the blanket and let her finger bleed on the sheets where they had lain together”. She pricks her finger to make it seem like her first time so that he wouldn’t get suspicious of the