A Thousand Splendid Suns question

Thank you for bringing this up. I forget how old Zalmai was at the time of Rasheed's death, but I agree that he "has the right to not understand". All I know is that Rasheed and Mariam were killed at a time when he was very young and that he would remain to be impressionable for many years after (as a youth), so I assume that Laila would still be able to ease his pain and misunderstanding whenever the topic of Rasheed came up. I'd also like to think that if he harbored any bad feelings toward Mariam, Laila could at least influence his opinion about her positively. I mean.. like I said, he's still very young and I feel like he would trust the words of his mother at that age.

Very true...I especially like your perception that Zalmai has a right to 'not understand'. No son will ever be able to forgive or empathize with somebody who has killed his father, but Laila s role will play an important role in altering his perception. We should also understand that Rashid was not an evil person but just brought up and ' mentally conditioned' in believing in certain wrong ideologies. Zalmai will have his own devils to fight with. hopefully Laila and Tariq will be able to give him an upbringing where he understands and appreciates Rashid as a good father to him, but a bad husband and similarly respect Mariams need to free herself and Laila from the clutches of the evil, that Rashid represented.

Zalami is a victim of all those years of oppression and imprisonment Laila experienced while living with Rasheed. Of course, he'll always remember Mariam as the woman who took away his father's life, but like everyone else said, he's of very young age and Laila can easily change his perception of the whole thing by explaining to him the truth behind what Mariam did.

Uhm... I don't think that Zalmai has any feelings whatsoever toward Mariam.

For one thing, it is stated that Laila intends to keep the lie going for as long as it takes for Zalmai to stop asking questions. The lie being that his father "went away and she does not know when he will be back". Also, Zalmai does tell Tariq at one point that his father has gone on a trip and will be back. Based on this, I actually do not think that anyone ever tells Zalmai what really happened to his father, or that Mariam was the cause.

Secondly, Mariam was never important to him anyway. Under Rasheed's influence, it seems to me that he simply saw her as a piece of furniture (does a punching bag count as furniture?) in the house. It is stated in the book that he does not really care what she thinks of him because he is well aware that she lacks authority. Furthermore, once they leave Afghanistan, he never actually questions Mariam's absence from the group. So why would Laila ever bother explaining anything about Mariam to him when he is not interested in her.

Aziza, on the other hand, carries Mariam's doll around wherever she goes. And she does not ask to visit Mariam once they return to Afghanistan, so I assume that she understands that Mariam has died, although perhaps she, like Zalmai, remains ignorant of the reason that she died. Who knows.

Oh, here is what I wanted to add... I think that the real sensitive predicament which Zalmai faces is accepting the fathering of a new man while under the impression that his real father is on his way home.

Any thoughts on that?