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Why couldn't Amir and Soraya have children according to the doctor in The Kite Runner?
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According to the doctor in The Kite Runner, Amir and Soraya could not have children due to "Unexplained Infertility." Despite numerous tests and examinations, Dr. Rosen could not determine a specific reason for their infertility. The couple tried various pregnancy drugs and in vitro fertilization without success. Eventually, Dr. Rosen suggested they consider adoption, which led them to adopt Sohrab, Hassan's son.
Although Amir and Soraya had been married for four years and had been trying to have a baby for more than a year, Soraya was unable to become pregnant. General Tahiri and his wife were becoming anxious as well, so Amir and Soraya decided to see a doctor. Amir was checked first, since, according to Dr. Rosen,
"A man's plumbing is like his mind: simple, very few surprises."
Amir "passed with flying colors." Soraya underwent numerous tests, but the doctor also proclaimed that her "plumbing's clear." He could not explain Soraya's inability to become pregnant, declaring her problem "Unexplained Infertility." She underwent drug treatment and in vitro fertilization, but they were "ultimately unsuccessul." When Doctor Rosen finally suggested that the couple consider adoption,
Soraya cried all the way home.
In The Kite Runner, why does Amir think he might not father a child?
The answer to this question can be found in Chapter 13 of this novel. This is when Amir and Soraya try...
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to have children and then have tests to establish if there are any problems. Although nothing can be detected, they are still unable to conceive. Soraya is of course trememndously disappointed and upset. However, Amir, because of who he is and what he did in his childhood, feels that not being able to have children is some form of punishment that has been inflicted upon him for not standing up to Assef and saving Hassan. Note what he says:
...perhaps something, someone, somewhere, had decided to deny me fatherhood for the things I had done. Maybe this was my punishment, and perhaps justly so. It wasn't meant to be, Khala Jamila had said. Or, maybe, it was meant not to be.
The interesting change in emphasis based on the slight change in word order reveals that Amir feels that not being able to have children is a result of his actions in his childhood. He still lives with massive, crushing guilt, and this is something that he struggles with daily. Note the way that the "unspecified" problems causing infertility support this conclusion.