Summary and Analysis Part 1:
Chapter 15 – April 1978
. Four years pass between chapters 14 and 15; it is now April 1978. Mariam is 19 years old and has been married to Rasheed for four years, during which time she's suffered six more miscarriages.
What is Rasheed's reaction to Mariam's pregnancy?
Rasheed reacts to the news of
Laila's pregnancy with a cruel joy
; he cannot help but point out that he'll have a child and Mariam never will. Laila is stunned by Rasheed's cruelty. Later, Mariam warns Laila that her pregnancy changes nothing between the two of them, and that Mariam will never be her servant.
Who does Mariam blame for losing baby?
Mariam grapples with her grief over the miscarriage, wavering between sadness and anger as she tries to blame
first Rasheed, then God
, for her loss. In the end, her sadness mixes with guilt. Mariam knows these are uncharitable thoughts and she prays and asks for forgiveness.
What happens in Chapter 27 of A Thousand Splendid Suns?
In Chapter 27,
Laila's suffering forges her connection to Mariam, and Rasheed's behavior foreshadows changes in his and Mariam's life together
. Whereas until this moment, Laila and Mariam were parallel characters whose lives did not significantly intersect, now they share a home.
What did Rasheed do to Mariam?
Rasheed's cruel, manipulative ways eventually result in Mariam
killing him in self-defense
.
Why do Jalil's wives really want Mariam to marry Rasheed?
Jalil's wives want to find a suitor for Mariam
because they want to get rid of their husband's mistake
.
Does Mariam have a miscarriage?
At the bathhouse, Mariam, surrounded by hot water and steam, suffers a miscarriage
. Here, the water is not gentle or awe-inspiring, but invasive and hot. It adds to her sense of overwhelming shock when Mariam begins to bleed.
What happened to Rasheed's son?
Before marrying Mariam, he had already been married once before, but his wife and son had died—
his son drowned while Rasheed was drunk and passed out
. He is initially kind and solicitous to Mariam but soon becomes a grunting, hostile bundle of nerves, who treats Mariam with scorn and beats her.
What birthday does Mariam want to celebrate with her father?
Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter 5. Mariam tells Jalil and Nana what she wants for her approaching
fifteenth birthday
: to go to Jalil's cinema house and see the cartoon film, Pinocchio.
What did Mariam bury?
Mariam allows herself the full range of grief, at turns feeling paralyzed with sorrow and at other times feeling angry at fate. Eventually, Mariam is able to take comfort in her religious faith, through both prayer and her private burial
of her unborn child
.
Why was Rasheed so cruel to Mariam and Laila?
Why has Rasheed become so cruel to Mariam and Laila? …
The war has caused laws against women to become more strict
which encourages Rasheed to continue his cruelty as it appears, to him, to be expected and right.
What did Jalil leave for Mariam?
That's what prompts him to visit Mariam in Kabul unannounced—and that's also what prompts him to leave her
a portion of his inheritance
, along with a letter begging her for forgiveness and a cassette copy of Pinocchio—the film Mariam had once begged him to take her to.
Why do Mariam and Laila have their first fight?
While Mariam and Laila have for the most part managed the simmering tensions in the household, their first fight
allows them to explicitly voice the pain and resentment that each of them feels
. For Laila, at least, the imminent arrival of her child allows her to retain some kind of hope for the future.
Do Laila and Tariq get married?
Chapter 48
Laila and Tariq are now married
. They live in Muree and enjoy a comfortable life with Zalmai and Aziza.
How did Rasheed buy the wedding ring for Laila?
When Rasheed brings Laila a wedding band, she is horrified to learn that he purchased it by
selling Mariam's old band
. … Laila feels incredibly guilty for her choices and cannot look Mariam in the face during the wedding ceremony.
Why is Rasheed abusive?
Rasheed is the most abusive character. … He both physically and verbally abuses his wives countless times in the story. This is due to
his personal loss of a son in the past
. He is remorseful of this incident and was upset that Miriam could not bear him a son but instead miscarried a daughter.
