but before Laila came along, at least he was only hers. With the new wife, Mariam feels that once again she is pushed to sidelines, especially when Laila's pregnancy is revealed. The pain Mariam has felt after her miscarriages quickly turns into antipathy against Laila. She, in turn, can't bring herself to trust Mariam.

It's understandable why their initial reactions to each other are what they are. Mariam, the more conservative of the two, feels threatened by a young rival and her liberal ideas. Laila, being more educated and rebellious, can't find a common ground with her. It's only after they've gotten to know each other, after they've both suffered under Rasheed's hands, that they come together. Laila's example opens up a new world for Mariam, and in a way, she becomes a stepmother to her and to her children as well. Saddened by her own inability to have children, Mariam finds comfort and redemption in protecting Laila's. She, in turn, finds a motherly figure in Mariam, an example of kindness and strength that emerges from Mariam's true core after they become united against Rasheed. In this way, the women help heal and support each other, becoming friends, although many readers have deemed it more like a mother-daughter relationship.

Ultimately, they become each other's saviors. Mariam, who wanted nothing more from life than to be loved, to be important to someone, ends up giving her life for Laila and the children. She does so happily, knowing that she means a lot to them—that instead of dying a sad little orphan, she leaves the world

as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother. A person of consequence at last.

And Laila, who wanted to be free, gets to be free through Mariam's sacrifice. With Rasheed gone and Mariam refusing to let Laila be dragged into the trial, she can finally be with Tariq and start a real family with him and the children. In addition to their own personal liberation, the two women's courage also brought about a better life for Laila's children, who could grow up with caring parents and hopefully be the seed of a brighter future.

In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam and Laila are the two female protagonists, and readers hear each of their stories alternately. We first learn of Mariam's childhood with a single mother who bore her of a wealthy man who already has a wife and children. Mariam grows up poor and has a limited education focused on religion. After her mother commits suicide, Mariam insists on being taken in by her father who swiftly marries her off to an older widower, Jalil. Mariam is devastated but has no choice in the matter. She is completely unsatisfied by the marriage but must learn to keep house and cook to Jalil's specifications. Mariam briefly hopes for a child to assuage her loneliness, but after losing a pregnancy, she eventually must accept that she will not become a mother.

Laila, on the other hand, is educated and has fairly liberal-minded parents. Her parents are tragically killed in a bombing and Laila is seriously injured. Jalil takes her in and he and Mariam nurse her back to health. He then takes her as a second wife. At first, Mariam is very resentful of Laila, especially because Jalil verbally abuses Mariam for being older, less beautiful, and unable to bear children. Laila has two children (though one is fathered by her boyfriend and not Jalil), and Mariam bonds with the daughter. This brings Mariam and Laila closer and forges a bond that eventually leads Mariam to kill Jalil to protect Laila.

Naturally, her upbringing makes Laila less submissive and she fights Jalil's oppression on occasion. In one instance, he nearly beats her to death. To save Laila, Mariam kills Jalil, and she takes the fall for the entire family by going to prison while Laila and the children flee Kabul with Laila's former boyfriend and true love.

The women are not at all similar in their upbringings but they end up bonding over their mutual oppression. They form a relationship that is so strong one woman is willing to sacrifice her life for the other. Hosseini's novel illustrates how the hardships of the women's lives allows them to form compassion and empathy for one another; their bond is much stronger than the hate and abuse perpetrated upon them.

Both are strong women, certainly. Here is how I would differentiate the two:

Laila is brave. Mariam is heroic.

Laila has known love. Although her mother struggles with her own emotional battles, Laila's father is loving and supportive. Her father provides her with opportunities to educate herself and encourages her efforts to become a strong and independent woman. Laila also finds love in Tariq and shares an intimate relationship with him. When she finds herself pregnant with Tariq's child following his supposed death, she finds a way to brave the terror of Rasheed in order to save herself and her child. She also finds a way to live peacefully as a second wife and to forge a relationship with Mariam, Rasheed's first wife. She encourages her daughter to love Mariam and sees the value in having another mother to protect her daughter. Laila is a fighter and is willing to make difficult choices for those she loves.

Yet Mariam ultimately sacrifices her own life to save Laila and her children, and that is heroic. Before Laila enters her life, Mariam has lived a life of hardship and exclusion. She doesn't find love in her biological father, and her mother leaves her alone in the world. Rasheed violently abuses her, especially when she fails to produce a child for him. When Laila arrives, life is difficult, but Mariam grows to love this new friendship and the young lives that join their family through Laila. When Rasheed is apparently going to kill Laila, Mariam kills him and then takes full responsibility, knowing this will lead to her death, in order to spare Laila and her children any harm. Mariam is a powerful example of the strength of women, particularly the oppressed.

Both Mariam and Tariq are strong and noble characters, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd choose Mariam.

Mariam has looked for acceptance for her entire life. She never finds it with her father. Rasheed dismisses her and abuses her after she proves unable to have children. She is forced to share her home with a second wife. This wife is able to bear children, so she is constantly reminded of the life she could never have. And yet, Mariam never allows her heart to become hardened beyond hope.

Aziza and Zalmai are not Mariam's biological children, yet she loves them and protects them as fiercely as any mother could. She and Aziza form a deep bond early on:

“Why have you pinned your heart to an old, ugly hag like me?” Mariam would murmur into Aziza’s hair. “Huh? I am nobody, don’t you see? A dehati. What have I got to give you?”

But Aziza only muttered contentedly and dug her face in deeper. And when she did that, Mariam swooned. Her eyes watered. Her heart took flight. And she marveled at how, after all these years of rattling loose, she had found in this little creature the first true connection in her life of false, failed connections. (Chapter 35)

This ability to keep her heart open despite all it has suffered shows great courage. The additional ability to accept the love of a child who is part of her family only because Rasheed decided that Mariam isn't enough for him is heroic.

And, of course, there is Mariam's ultimate sacrifice on behalf of Laila. When Rasheed is close to killing Laila, it is Mariam who ends his life. In the context of her Afghanistan setting, this is beyond brave. Mariam understands that a woman's violent actions toward a man will never be tolerated, and by saving her friend's life, she has ended her own. Yet she doesn't look with regret upon her choice, and when Laila suggests running away with the children, Mariam tells her that she cannot jeopardize the children's safety.

Mariam bravely walks to her death, proud of her choice and full of courage because she finally enjoyed the power of love in her life. After so much rejection and darkness, Laila and her children love Mariam deeply, and this is enough to satisfy Mariam's soul as she forms her final thoughts.

Sacrificing one's life for a friend is perhaps the most heroic decision a person could make; thus, Mariam demonstrates the qualities of a hero through her final choices.

Mariam portrays true motherly instincts in A Thousand Splendid Suns. She learns from the death of her own mother how deep Nana's own love (albeit dependant affection) was for her daughter. Mariam looks forward to the birth of her first child with Rasheed, and she knows that despite their age differences and the circumstances of their arranged marriage, she will grow to love him and make him a good wife. When she discovers the true, cruel nature of her husband, she transfers her motherly instincts to Laila and her son. Her final act of accepting full responsibility for Rasheed's death so Laila can escape is a true act of motherly affection.

Laila exhibits a true independent streak not always found in Afghan women. Her father, a schoolteacher, has brought her up to think for herself, and despite Rasheed's attempts to subjugate her completely, she still yearns to be free of him. Her attempt to leave, with Mariam and her son, is unsuccessful, but she never completely gives up hope. Her final act of returning to Afghanistan to bring up her children surprises her husband, but for Laila it is a way to honor her own parents and her heritage.

The AI-generated response is correct, and there are no stipulations to its accuracy. Both Laila and Tariq demonstrate heroic qualities in the story, so the answer to the question of who is more heroic will be based in part on a reader’s interpretation of the text. The AI-generated response thus presents evidence to support both points of view. It is accurate but could use a bit more detail to ensure the reader understands why the actions discussed are heroic.

Heroism refers to a great display of bravery, which both characters show. As the AI-generated response states, Laila is forced to marry Rasheed, who is very abusive. The response says she remains hopeful but could further emphasize how she finds the strength to tolerate his violence so she can be there for Mariam and her children. This is not an easy thing to endure, and the way she does it for others is very heroic. She also plans their escape, knowing how bad the consequences would be, which is a great display of bravery. Also, recall how she shows great physical and emotional strength in the scene where she and Mariam kill Rasheed with the shovel. Both women are heroic in this scene, as they stand up to their abuser to save the other person and the children.

Similarly, Tariq also demonstrates heroic qualities throughout the text. The way he remains emotionally strong after losing his leg and continues to dedicate himself to Laila in the face of so much uncertainty and violence shows a great deal of bravery, a key characteristic of a hero.