Outside Reading, Week 2, Post A

Vocab
disheveled (90) - hanging loosely or in disorder; unkempt

sustenance (87) - means of sustaining life; nourishment.

Figurative Language
"This man's will felt to Mariam as imposing and immovable as the Safid-koh mountains looming over Gul Daman." (64)

Although this reference is pretty obscure to most Western readers, one is able to see to what Hosseini is implying. Mariam's marriage to Rasheed is clearly awkward and loveless and as result, Mariam both fears and hates Rasheed. In this excerpt Mariam is comparing Rasheed's will to large and immovable objects, the Safid-koh mountains, using a simile.

"And the burqa, she learned to her surprise, was also comforting...like a one-way window." (66)

In this passage, Mariam tries on a burqa for the first time. Although she was scared of it at first, it grows on her, as she enjoys the privacy. For this reason, she compares her burqa to a one-way window using a simile.

"She remembered Nana saying once that each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world." (82)

At this time in the book, Mariam is experiencing her first snowfall away from Nana. She is reminded of this quote by Nana in which she compares each snowflake to the sighs of aggrieved women using a metaphor. Nana doesn't mean that each snowflake is literally "a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman", but rather, she uses snow to represent the large number of women who endure hardships.

Quote
"'Good,' Rasheed said. His cheeks were quivering. 'Now you know what your rice tastes like. Now you know what you've given me in this marriage. Bad food, and nothing else.' Then he was gone, leaving Mariam to spit out pebbles, blood, and the fragments of two broken molars" (94)

After Mariam continually fails to produce a child, Rasheed is fed up and makes her chew on pebbles. I felt that this was significant because up until now, their relationship had just been strained, but not violent. However, now Rasheed may be abusing Mariam, which could shift the focus of the story completely.

Theme
Up until the very last page where Rasheed abuses Mariam, I would say that the book changed to a theme of the potential for good behind every setback. Mariam was beginning to fit into her life with Rasheed and although their relationship was strained, she had a stable life. However, with that very last quote, the theme of the book may be shifting entirely.