The concept of resilience is a profound and well-administered trait in many literary pieces, among the protagonists; one to be appreciated and admired by those around them. Resilience is a trait often assigned to a character who experiences an unforgiving amount of discrimination and terror throughout their life. In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam, one of the protagonists, despite the insidious cultural stigma and ongoing tragedy that pervades much of her life, is ultimately satisfied with the life she has led for herself. Mariam demonstrates the aforementioned resilience, often found in protagonist characters because, in numerous accounts, she faces evidence of aggression and belittling throughout the novel. Once Mariam witnesses the shocking remains of Nana's suicide, her mind is opened to the purpose behind Nana's treatment of Mariam; this forever alters Mariam's mindset. Mariam suffered seven miscarriages when she was just nineteen. These devastating relapses cause Rasheed, her husband, to begin to abuse her incessantly, ultimately destroying all of Mariam's hopes and desires for a loving family and sense of belonging. Mariam saves herself, Laila and the children, defeating the most threatening being in their lives; Rasheed. This controversial and heroic act highlights her maternal instinct to protect her beloved children and positively, emotionally transforms her from constantly living in fear to living without fear. There is nothing to dissuade her - and there were many forces against her along the way - from achieving the happiness she sought in having a family of her own, ever since she was a young and naive child living in the little kolba between Herat and Kabul. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay In the novel, Nana, Mariam's mother, is one of the few people with whom Mariam has managed to establish a relationship, their connection is extremely weak. The dynamic of the relationship between Nana and Mariam is opposite to the stereotypical mother-daughter relationship that one would consider normal; Nana treats Mariam with little respect and expects a lot in return because she has lost everything due to Mariam's conception. Starting at a young age, “Mariam is harshly oppressed throughout the novel.” (Shapiro 32), and feels that he is a burden to his mother; Nana verbally insults Mariam by calling her harami and making her feel like she is worthless outside of the kolba. “A gust of wind blew and pulled aside the drooping branches of the weeping willow like a curtain, and Mariam glimpsed what was under the tree: the straight-backed chair, overturned. The rope falling from a high branch. Nana dangles at the end.” In observing the traumatic event of her mother's suicide, Mariam is subjected to the looming concept of death; a distant and remote thought for most fifteen-year-olds, but one with which Mariam quickly becomes acquainted. As right before this catastrophic event in her life, Mariam learns about the passive, weak and despicable side of Jalil, her father, making her filled with guilt and sympathy for her mother as if she owes an apology to her. childish naivety. Throughout her childhood Mariam believed that her father was a perfect man, despite Nana's constant rejection of this philosophy. Mariam firmly believed that her father could do no wrong until, after ensuring his presence at the meeting with her at the cinema, he made her stand up and, once again, was refused entry into his house in Herat, after looking for him and waiting at his door all night. Mariam is deeply affected by the shocking events that follow her mother's death because everythingwhat he has really known are his grandmother, the kolba and Jalil. Pretty quickly, Mariam is torn from life she knows it and must adapt and endure the mental and emotional trauma that losing her mother brings. When Mariam loses her mother, she loses everything familiar in her life and is left with Jalil and his multiple families, where Mariam is considered inferior. and is made to feel like she doesn't belong. When her mother commits suicide, Mariam feels stigmatized once again: she can neither aspire to be accepted by her father's family nor to have a place in their society. Her only choice is to marry as hastily as possible and be forgotten. Mariam is confined to the cottage and exposed to minimal social interaction. After Nana's death, Mariam comes to Jalil's residence, which is ironic for a reader because she once wanted so much to live with Jalil's family, and at the end, she is granted this wish, but it took Nana's suicide her mother for Jalil to finally accept her into his home. It isn't long before Jalil's wives get rid of Mariam, arranging her marriage to Rasheed; a financially robust shoemaker, an elderly man. “She was sent away because she was the walking, breathing embodiment of their shame.” (Hosseini 48). The fact that Mariam, Jalil's harami, lived in Jalil's household created a lot of tension between him and his wives. Hosseini implies that Mariam is considered the manifestation of Jalil's careless and frivolous behavior, which is why the wives arrange her to marry Rasheed: they did not want themselves or their children to be subjected to the walking reminder of their husband's illicit affairs with Nana. After experiencing the loss of her mother, Mariam has a life-changing realization that tears her apart but ensures her strength; Mariam realizes that her mother's resentment and cruel words towards her were preparing her, it was Nana who taught her the lesson of resistance; something that would ultimately lead Mariam to achieve her happiness and fulfillment in life. At the young age of just fifteen, Mariam reluctantly gets married to Rasheed at the hands of her father. This union between husband and wife is an adjustment for the innocent Mariam, however, Rasheed is no stranger to the customs of such a union, being a widow and having lost a son. Rasheed does not spare much time before proceeding to consummate the marriage with Mariam, regardless of the fact that she is not yet willing. Rasheed seeks a child and sees Mariam as a means to acquire what he desires, namely someone to bear his name. Mariam, try as she might, cannot carry any pregnancies to term, which infuriates Rasheed to no end. There was always something, some little thing that infuriated him, because no matter what she did to please him, no matter how completely she submitted to his desires and demands, it wasn't enough. He couldn't give him his son back. In this essential way, she had failed him - seven times she had failed him - and now she was nothing more than a burden to him. Mariam's miscarriages become a trigger for Rasheed's bad mood and soon after, he begins his heinous mistreatment and abuse towards Mariam. Rasheed constantly oppresses Mariam, and after she fails to give birth to the child he so desperately wants, she is treated like the useless harami she was conditioned to be while growing up. The dynamics of the civil relationship between husband and wife, which she initially got used to since she married Rasheed, quickly takes a turn for the worse. This loss of congenial interaction with Rasheed only helps build Mariam's resistance, through constant verbal and physical abuse from her husband andtransforms into the strong woman she becomes. By not giving Rasheed a child, Mariam, in his eyes, has failed as a wife and he harbors resentment towards her for this. Rasheed manages to degrade Mariam more than anyone else, exerting on her all the pressures that culture produces on fertility. Rasheed's scandalous mistreatment of Mariam is due to society's established precedent for families producing male children. Rasheed is very vocal about his preference for a male. He insists that the unborn baby in Mariam's belly is a boy, so he is genuinely happy about the pregnancy. He is only willing to name the unborn child if it is a boy... This preference for sons continues to devalue women and prohibit the view of women as equals throughout society. Mariam must walk on thin ice around Rasheed and ensure she maintains her role as the perfect wife as best she can on all fronts other than reproduction, in an effort to avoid being physically or verbally harassed by Rasheed. Avoiding harassment sometimes doesn't seem to make a difference when it has violent intentions. The heartbreaking loss of Mariam's unborn children, coupled with the unrealistic expectations that Rasheed places on Mariam on a daily basis, is ultimately what further unites Laila and Mariam in the novel. Mariam considers Laila as a daughter figure in her life and Laila's children as her grandchildren, which is all she has ever wanted. Therefore, these events work together to positively influence Mariam, providing her with her long-held dream of feeling a sense of belonging and family. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam, although she has never physically had a child, has a maternal instinct and a drive to protect Laila. and the children from Rasheed's wrath. When Laila's life is threatened, Mariam is overcome by this impulse, filling her with the strength to kill Rasheed, for the safety of those she loves, with a shovel blow to the head. Unfortunately, the Afghan court does not usually tend to rule in favor of the female gender in case of trial: “I admit what I did, brother, but, if I hadn't done it, he would have killed her. He was strangling her." (Hosseini 324). No consideration is given to the fact that the crime committed by Mariam is an act of self-defense, nor to the fact that there is a witness, since this witness is a woman, Laila. Mariam is aware of having committed an immoral act, however, he knows she had probable cause, allowing her to reveal her ferocity and fervor, confidently, to the judge. With this, Mariam shows her final transformation into an honest, confident woman and deservedly free. After Rasheed's sudden death, she manages to find a positive outcome, peace. It is strange for the reader the sense of peace and calm after the storm (Rasheed's murder), where Laila, the most generous source. of happiness in Mariam's life, is left to live the life that Mariam fought for her Mariam is a wonderful Afghan woman, representative of the rare and influential strength that comes from women who stand up exclusively for what they believe is right they present themselves to her with great difficulty, but with success. “Most women decide to follow the rules of patriarchy, regardless of the treatment they accept. Cleverly, along with the sad image of women accepting the way patriarchy treats them, Hosseini portrays the strength of women struggling to fight patriarchy.” (Istikomah 40). Mariam's entire life has been filled with struggle, and it is only after her courageous retaliation against Rasheed that she finally fights back. Hosseini's portrayal of Mariam during this event allows the reader to discern.”