A Thousand Splendid Suns Critical Analysis

“Justice and power must be brought together so that whatever is just, may be powerful and whatever is powerful may be just” With all people, power is justified throughout all aspects of life. More importantly, the rare nature of power of women makes that even more incredible. As many nations over the course of history, and even in today’s time, show, women have never been given the honour of holding power. With of course, the exception of such women as Cleopatra and Donna Marina.
However, with all power comes, as many Hollywood movies and TV shows state, “with responsibility” and many can be swayed to join the side of corruption, greed and wealth, exploiting their power to make as much profit as possible. Khaled Hosseini’s tragic text, A Thousand Splendid Suns, conveys all the characteristics of a powerful text, incorporating the inner strength of women contrasted with the discrimination of the same gender. This text is amplified by John Boyne’s novel, The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas.
Throughout the entire novel, both Mariam and Laila endure a lot of obstacles and heartache purely because of their gender. Yet they continue to persevere and overcome their challenges. It is their strength and power within themselves which allows “justice and power” to be “brought together”, as the women of that nation would not have been allowed to voice their opinions, let along hold any power over authority, as the text describes the main antagonist being constricted by their husband. The dialogue “A man’s heart is a wretched, wretched thing.

It isn’t like a mother’s womb. It won’t bleed. It won’t stretch to make room for you” conveys fear, and powerlessness. The persona does not feel any power, but feels isolation instead. This demonstrates women’s place in many nations in the poorer parts of the world. However, later the text states that “Laila has moved on”. This quote highlights the persona empowering herself. She has moved on from her abusive husband and now “whatever is powerful may be just”, aligning the quote with the persona.