In the Novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Mariam is shaped by nana’s strictness, Rasheed’s abusiveness, and Laila’s affection. This accentuates the overall theme that despite all of the conflict and oppression she faces, Mariam is still able to find love and affection in her life.
In the beginning of the novel, Mariam is constantly reminded the she is a “Harami,” a bastard child of Nana and Jalil. Mariam is forced to grow up quickly as Nana makes her cook, clean, and do chores without any form of appreciation or thankfulness. This made Mariam learn to be strict and keep to herself most of the time. This shows how Nana’s attitude alone has changed the way that Mariam is. In chapter one, when Nana says, “like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman,” which becomes more and more true throughout the story, as Rasheed always blames everything on Mariam.
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In fact, at the end of part one, Rasheed forces Mariam to eat rocks because he was mad at her for spilling sauce on their sofra, bellowing, “Now you know what you’ve given me in this marriage, bad food and nothing else!” Because of this treatment, Mariam feels like she is not even allowed to talk, only to work and try to please Rasheed, although it will never happen. When Laila enters the story, Mariam is immediately aggressive towards her because that is the only way she knows how to communicate because of how Nana and Rasheed treat