Meet the Characters of A Thousand Splendid Suns (1)

The novel I’m reading, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossen is about life in Afghanistan in the past thirty years. The main character of the novel, Mariam, is naïve and optimistic, but she quickly learns about the harsh realities outside of her home in rural land between Hurat and Gul Daman. Mariam is constantly torn between the opposing stories of her parents, but often she believes her father’s interpretation of the situation. Mariam probably thinks her mother is just over exaggerating due to her bitterness of being kicked out of the house, and also Mariam probably prefers to hear more positive stories about how great her early life was rather than negative ones. Mariam soon regrets her admiration for her father when she realizes he only cared for her when it was convenient and out of the public eye.
Other characters are Mariam’s mother, Nana and Mariam’s father, Jalil. Nana is bitter about how Jalil threw her away once she became pregnant. Because of this, Nana’s life is consumed with hatred for Jalil and finding revenge. The narrorator describes he futile attempt at revenge, “Nana yelled at the boys (Jalil’s sons) as she carried bags of rice inside, and called them names Mariam didn’t understand (15).” Jalil only visits Mariam once a week for an hour because she is not a legitimate daughter. Mairam looked forward to Jalil’s visits more than anything; the narrorator explains, “The anxiety set in on Tuesday nights. Mariam would sleep poorly fretting that some business entanglement would prevent Jalil from coming on Thursday (19).” It is crazy that Mariam spends half of her week dreaming about the hour with her father. Mariam thinks the world of Jalil because when they have conversations Jalil is away from others so he may tell stories that need not be verified. Once seeing city life, Mariam quickly learns that Jalil is a selfish man who only cared about Mariam when it was convenient. Mariam has just been forced by Jalil to marry a forty five year-old shoe maker who I am anxious to learn about.