There are certain aspects of the human experience that each of us can relate to on some level. It is what allows us to communicate with each other and develop empathetic and compassionate perspectives. That being said, there are also some experiences common to many of us that tend to differ from person to person due to our different perspectives. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, the women in the novel share the experience of oppression experienced in an intensely masochistic Afghan culture. They are repeatedly subjected to violence, both physical and mental, as they live with the shame that their identity casts upon them. All that being said, this is not fundamentally what the novel is about. It seems that the focus is instead on the positive resilience of the human spirit. If it were exclusively about the need for endurance that women face, it would be a terribly tragic story, but not as spiritually impactful. Hosseini's use of symbolism and dynamic diction lends itself to an overarching theme designed to resonate with all readers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Many of the experiences the women go through in this story are inconceivably destructive on many levels: moral, emotional, and physical. . Mariam and Laila, the two main protagonists, suffer under the care of patriarchal superiority using radical rules and legitimizing the mistreatment of women. Throughout the novel, the burqa becomes a sign of oppression and male domination, created under the guise of humility, but truly a means of eliminating women as human beings. This limits the woman to a source of seduction and shame, which is only exacerbated by the restrictions placed on other aspects of her life. The Taliban reportedly announced via loudspeaker: “Attention women: you will remain inside your house at all times... If you go out, you must be accompanied by a mahram, a male relative. If you are caught alone in the street, you will be beaten and sent home” (144), demonstrating the perceived utter incompetence that comes with being a woman. This was not simply a case of inequality; women were treated as if they were pets that had to be kept on a leash. That being said, the women in the novel are consistently identified exclusively by their duties as wives and mothers. They are just a simple object of production and they recognize it very well. Giti and Hasina, Laila’s friends, tell her: “When we are twenty years old, Giti and I, we will have chased away four or five children each. But you, Laila, will make us two idiots proud. You're going to be someone" (92). When Mariam is pregnant for the first time, Rashid is delighted by the fact that he is going to have a child, a boy. He rejects the idea that he could have a girl when he is a child. When Mariam has several miscarriages, Rashid is no longer interested in her. She cannot give him a son and is therefore treated as a simple servant. Mariam's little value as a woman and as a child. that no one ceased to exist because she was incapable of it. The fact that women are forced to endure is certainly true. This is undoubtedly one of the central aspects of the novel, but what is actually discussed in the. The novel is about how women continue to endure with such strength and resilience, beyond all the atrocities and suffering they have been subjected to. the idea that the two women are.