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How do Miriam and Laila from A Thousand Splendid Suns compare and contrast in terms of endurance?
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Mariam and Laila both exhibit remarkable endurance but differ in their responses to suffering in A Thousand Splendid Suns. Mariam endures quietly, relying on faith, while Laila, inspired by her progressive upbringing, faces challenges boldly. Despite their differences, both women form a strong bond, supporting each other through emotional and physical abuse, ultimately transcending their suffering with sheer will.
Both Mariam and Laila endure their life circumstances in similar yet differing ways. Their respective approaches to life reinforce the themes of women's suffering, gender roles, and female camaraderie in A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Both women endure restrictions to their freedom with courage but differ in how they choose to respond to pain. In the story, Mariam becomes visibly depressed after she miscarries her first child. Rasheed, who was hoping for a boy, treats Mariam's grief with cold indifference. Rasheed's insensitivity and the subsequent tension between him and Mariam strongly reinforce the frailty of gender relations within an austere patriarchal culture.
As a result of Rasheed's apathy, Mariam grieves quietly. She remembers Nana's characterization of women as snowflakes that break up into pieces as they fall quietly on people. To Mariam, women like herself are expected to suffer quietly. When Rasheed refuses a ritual funeral for the baby, Mariam holds...
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the ceremony on her own. She digs a hole in the yard, plants the suede coat Rasheed had purchased for the baby in it, and covers up the hole with dirt. Then, Mariam prays to Allah for sustenance and for blessings for her lost child. So, Mariam endures quietly and relies on God to comfort her in her grief.
Meanwhile, Laila approaches suffering differently. In the story, Laila represents the new generation of women who are able to thrive and enjoy a measure of autonomy within an intensely patriarchal culture. Laila's boldness and extroverted nature are in part inspired by her father Babi, a man who harbors progressive views about women's rights. To Babi, the gender roles of old will never suffice in a modern Afghanistan.
True to his convictions, Babi ensures that Laila is able to pursue her education. Laila's childhood experiences differ markedly from that of Mariam's. When the two find themselves as sister wives, they form an inseparable bond with each other; their shared experiences reinforce the theme of female camaraderie in the novel.
After much discussion, the two plot to run away together. Laila inspires Mariam with her dynamic and dauntless spirit. However, a male stranger they approach for help to purchase bus tickets reports them to authorities instead. The restrictions against women traveling without a male companion reinforce the helplessness of women in a rigid patriarchal culture. Rasheed is furious when he discovers Mariam and Laila's plan to run away.
He physically attacks both women and locks Laila up in her room. Rasheed gives vent to his violent inclinations because he knows that there will be no legal repercussions for his actions. Later, when Rasheed discovers that Laila has visited with Tariq, he ferociously beats her. To prevent Rasheed from murdering Laila, Mariam hits him with a shovel, killing him. Both women endure great physical and emotional suffering at Rasheed's hands, but their bond provides them courage to transcend his abuse.
In the end, although both endure in markedly differing ways, Mariam and Laila share one thing in common: their ability to transcend suffering with sheer will.