Literature Circle 1 Discussion Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion my group had on A Thousand Splendid Suns especially in the way in which we corresponded in our interpretation of the text. For example, throughout the text the theme of covering up or veiling was applicable to both a small and large scale. The speaker claims, "A few moments later, he pushed back the blanket and left the room, leaving her with the impression of his head on her pillow, leaving her to wait out the pain down below, to look at the frozen stars in the sky and a cloud that draped the face of the moon like a wedding veil” (Hosseini 70). This passage is incredibly important in the way that it paints a symbolic picture within the mind. Moon has the denotation of anything that one could desire. Thus, the speaker uses a simile to describe the covering up of the moon as a way of covering up her desire of progression. This is because the "frozen stars", which are representative of the traditional stagnation within Afghan society are in direct contrast from the moon. Therefore, the wedding veil is covering up the progression of women that Mariam so desperately seeks. This theme of covering up is seen again when the speaker claims, "Jalil had taught he  that gray clouds got their color by being so dense that their top parts absorbed the sunlight and cast their own shadow along the base. That's what you see Mariam jo, he had said, the dark in their underbelly" (Hosseini 28). Gray has the connotation of old age and tradition. Thus, the clouds can be seen as representations of the strict patriarchal society in Afghanistan and the people that contribute towards it. It is also very interesting to note that the gray clouds absorb the sunlight. Throughout the text, cold and icy weather is connoted for the stagnation of women, so sunlight can be seen as a direct contrast to that which is progression. The fact that the clouds are absorbing this sunlight is representative of the covering up of progression by the strict hierarchy of tradition and patriarchy in Afghanistan. This quote also relates to the theme of covering up in the form of pregnancy. The "underbelly" of the clouds can be seen as the womb that is personified by the strict hierarchal patriarchy in Afghanistan. The woman are essentially the embryos and babies within this womb and in a sense are being shielded from the light. Lastly, although this book is centered in Afghanistan, there seems to be some unifying Christian elements that are displayed. For example, the speaker claims, "She rolled up the legs of her trousers to the knees, crossed the stream, and, for the first time in her life, headed down the hill for Herat" (Hosseini 28). This quote displays the concept of heaven and hell in the way that Mariam moves in a downward direction, which could indicate a movement from heaven to hell or on a larger scale from the Garden of Eden to Earth.