Hope, Rebirth, and the Monomyth

The contemporary novel that I had to read was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. In our second lit circle, my group truly talked about the meaning of the text as a whole and I thought it'd be a great idea to expound on that by relating it to a structural framework. In this novel, Hosseini portrays the hope of women's rights progression in a primarily patriarchal Afghan society through the allusion off the Garden of Eden in an archetypal framework that models the Monomyth. Throughout the text, Hosseini seems to be alluding the the Genesis. For example, the speaker claims, "Tariq napped beneath a tree on the banks of a gurgling stream". The tree that Tariq naps under can be seen as a direct allusion and foreshadow to the eventual end of a cycle and the creation of a new age of Afghan society, which occurs during the orphanage scene at the end of the text. Another indication of this hopeful rebirth of the cycle is portrayed through the light symbolism. For example, the speaker claims, "A dragonfly whirred nearby. Laila watched its wings catch glints of sunlight as it buzzed from one blade of grass to another. They flashed purple, then green, orange. […] Somewhere, a donkey brayed. A generator sputtered to life."The sunlight "glints" through the fireflies as if it is partially portraying the light from the sun. Throughout this text, light is seen as a symbol of progression and thus this passage is an example of a foreshadow for the eventual push towards progression in Afghan society near the end of the text. Lastly, the generator sputtering to life is a prime indication of this movement towards progression that the whole passage seems to be alluding towards. Near the end of the text, the speaker claims, " The orphanage playground has a row of apple saplings now along the east-facing wall. Laila is planning to plant some on the south wall as well as soon as it is rebuilt. There is a new swing set, new monkey bars, and a jungle gym." Hosseini seems to be making a direct allusion tot he Garden of Eden through his reference to the apple saplings, which indicate a sense of renewal and rebirth. Not only this, Laila's whole world seems to be changed in the way that she is carrying on the Monomyth through mariam. According to Joseph Campbell, the very last step of the journey is to return to a point where everything has changed and it is called the Return With the Elixir. This Elixir could be metaphorical or literal. In Laila (and therefore Mariam's case), the Elixir is the realization of change and success that is constantly around her. The new orphanage indicates a sense of newness and rebirth within Afghan society. One of my favorite points in my group's discussion of this text was the idea that Mariam was seen as a Christ figure who sacrificed herself for the greater good and recycle of the Afghan society. The beauty of the book for me was that Mariam still lived on through Laila in a common bond of hardship and enduring.