Ashley Ambrose

August 27, 15
Period 4
Literary Criticism Web Quest
Articles
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/07/07/AR2008070701446.h
tml
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2009/08/thou-a08.html
Gender/Archetypal Criticism
A common archetype, or gender role, is that women are supposed to be dainty
flowers who are only good for three things: cooking, cleaning, and making
children. Hosseini contradicts this archetype by revealing the tough nature women
must have in order to survive. Between the 1960s to the 1990s, this archetype
was not only culturally accepted, but lawfully as well especially when the Taliban
took control in 1996. Khaled Hosseini not only addresses this issue, but shows the
struggles of every Afghani women through the incredible lives of Miriam and
Laila, who were anything but what the men who had an opinion that mattered
believed, by digging deeper to reveal an unfortunate truth.
A recurring theme that describes how strong Afghani women are is, A women
must learn how to endure. Hosseini introduces this idea with Nana, Miriams
mother. Nana was an archetypal women, she was a house servant, which means
she cooked, and cleaned, and she had a child with the owner of the house. Check.
Check. Check. All three things a women are supposed to be. The only problem
was that she was having an illegitimate child with a reputable man. Her
desirability went next to nothing because she had been tainted by the touch of
a man who was not her husband. She then learns the importance of enduring.
Enduring the stares. Enduring the hateful spews. Endure being kicked out. Endure
being a so-called disgrace by her own family. As if she was the one tainted but no
one thought to look at the hands of who tainted. This all reveals that women are
subjected to double standards. That even when she fulfills the checklist of what a
women should be, she is subjected to a variable not by her own fault other than
her own gender. That being a women is a crime. Miriams life with Nana is
extremely crucial in the setup of the book because it foreshadows Miriams life.

The punishment of the crime from being a women Hosseini addresses are facts
that are still present today, such as
*87 percent of Afghan women are illiterate.

* 1 in every 3 Afghan women experience physical, psychological or sexual

violence.
* 44 years is now the average life expectancy for women across the country.
* 70 to 80 percent of women face forced marriages in Afghanistan.
All of these are not only addressed but put into excruciating detail to 2 women we
know and love, Miriam and Laila. Revealing the painful reality all Afghani
women believe to be what their life is meant to be. Miriam, Laila, Nana are the
three main representatives of the endurance all Afghani women are born with.
But, every women that grazes any page in this book reveal a different layer of
endurance an Afghani women may face at some point in her life.
The archetype that women are dainty flowers who wither by the slightest touch,
that are only good for spewing out babies, housekeeping, and being a chef, is
proven to be wrong in this literary work. In order for an Afghani women to live
her life, she must be tougher than nails in order to survive (For example, Miriam
killing Rasheed in order for Laila and herself to live without fear).