No Voice : Muted Group Theory

After being let down by her father she decides to make the trek to his house. After being turned away repeatedly and spending the night outside, she is then forced to go home by her father’s driver. However, upon arriving home she discovers that while she was gone her mother took her own life. She then has no choice but to live with her father, his wives, and her half-siblings. After letting Mariam grieve for a couple days, Jalil’s wives then announce to her that she will be married to a man she has never met named Rasheed. After telling her father that she was done with him, Mariam and Rasheed leave for his home in a different city. As time goes by Mariam discovers she is pregnant. After the tragic miscarriage of her baby Rasheed begins to mistreat her. Mariam’s side of the story leaves off with Rasheed forcing her to chew on rocks so she can understand “…what you’ve given me in his marriage. Bad food and nothing else” (Hosseini pg. 104). Next the story transitions to the story of Laila’s life growing up in Afghanistan. She is the youngest and only daughter between her father, a teacher, and her mother, who has checked herself out mentally the majority of the time. Laila talks about her best friend, a boy not much older named Tariq, who is also missing half of a leg. Tariq lost part of his leg when he accidently stepped on a land mine but he doesn’t let it hinder him in anyway.