Pain, Trauma, and the Struggle for Survival: Mariam and Laila's Journey in Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns

Abstract

The study examines Khaled Hosseini's novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, set against the backdrop of war and Taliban rule in Afghanistan. It explores how patriarchal structures restrict women’s access to education, freedom, dignity, and agency, subjecting them to violence, inequality, trauma, and suffering, employing feminist literary theory and psychoanalytic trauma theory as the theoretical framework. The study focuses primarily on Mariam and Laila, two women from different generations whose contrasting responses to oppression illuminate the complexities of female resistance and resilience. While Mariam initially internalizes patriarchal domination and endures suffering in silence, Laila, empowered by education and an awareness of her rights, challenges oppression and refuses to surrender her dignity. The study further examines how trauma and social domination suppress women’s identities while also fostering solidarity and resistance. It challenges the patriarchal notion that women are one another’s worst enemies by highlighting the transformative bond between Mariam and Laila. Their relationship, together with Aziza’s role in Laila’s struggle, demonstrates the significance of sisterhood, chosen motherhood, and female solidarity in confronting oppression. The study concludes that women’s resilience and collective resistance can challenge patriarchal power and create possibilities for dignity, identity, and survival.