Eco-feminist reading in Khaleed Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns present the entwined story of two-Afghani women, struggling

in agony under the oppression of the old Afghan family system, Mariam and Laila both married

to the same truculent man Rasheed. The story starts with the narration of Mariam, an illegitimate

child of a rich businessman and a maid. After experiencing a series of family disturbance, she

has to accept the arranged marriage and marry a shoemaker Rasheed, who is thirty years older

than her. This is the beginning of another unfortunate life experience and it is not changed until

the arrival of another female character Laila. Laila loses her parents in a bombing and then

becomes Rasheed’s second wife after being saved by him. From then on, these two women bear

the domestic violence and insult from their husband. However, under the influence of Laila,

Mariam rebuild her belief for better life and obtain the courage to pursue happy life. The bitter

experiences of two female characters are representative and the novel displays the author’s

sympathy for Afghan women by depicting their oppression and extreme domination in a

patriarchal society. Meanwhile, the author also presents the destruction of nature that is brought

by the endless war and instable political situations in Afghanistan. Civil war which ushered in

and spread over the twenty years of uneasy peace were not only bloodier and more cruel than all

their predecessors; they were followed by massive destruction of the natural environment around

the country which ravaged Afghanistan for decades, and it also continues the theme of violence

and rape on a political scale. Therefore, taking the whole plot in terms, this thesis will interpret

and analyze the novel from the perspective of eco-feminism. Eco-feminism appeared in

the1970s. It was originated from feminism and it is one of feminism branches in third wave of

feminism. Eco-feminism, which combines ecology and the idea of feminism, opposes
anthropocentrism and androcentric and criticizes the values of patriarchy. This thesis uses the

theory of eco-feminism to reveal the control and oppression on women and the devastation on

nature in the patriarchal society. It tries to demonstrate the ecological and feminist consciousness

in the novel and to show author’s rumination on the relationship among nature, men and women.

It points out the control on nature and women and rethinks the relationship among nature, men

and women. As, in the novel both the women and nature share the same miserable fate under the

common oppression. The analysis of the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns with eco-feminist

theory gives the novel, not only realistic meaning but also social value. People should realize the

importance of building a harmonious society and sustainable ecological system. When nature,

men and women are treated equally, human beings can live healthily on the earth and human

society can develop smoothly.