The theme of the inner strength of women is the most prevalent theme.
Both characters, Mariam and Laila, are forced into life situations which
challenge their strength and their ability to endure. Mariam is born illegitimate
in a world which turns their back on such women. She is later forced into
a marriage to a cruel, abusive man and endures twenty-seven years with
him. She bonds with Laila later in her life, which allows her to understand
that she can love and be loved in return. In the end, her great strength
allows her to face the sacrifice she makes of her own life to save the
ones she loves. As for Laila, she is born into a somewhat privileged world
in that she has parents who love her and a father who believes she deserves
a life where she is valued and loved. Although her mother spends much
of Laila's childhood grieving for her lost sons, Laila endures her Mammy's
setbacks with love and as much understanding as she can give. Later, when
she finds herself pregnant to Tariq, who she believes is dead, she marries
Rasheed to protect her unborn child. She, too, endures the abuse of her
husband and fights back against whenever she can even though it means
she will be beaten. In the end, he nearly kills her, but when Mariam insists
she flee with Tariq and the children, she recognizes she must live for
her children's sake even though it means the death of Mariam alone for
the crime of murdering their husband. She then accepts her responsibility
to honor the memories of her parents and Mariam by rebuilding Kabul and
her country as a strong, determined example to all her countrywomen.
The theme of the human capacity for evil is also an important idea.
Throughout the novel, Mariam's mother's belief that a man's finger always
comes to point to a woman is reinforced in how the various factions strive
to control the country no matter how many innocent people die. Of course,
this mostly means women and children. The Soviets invade and run roughshod
over the rights of everyone, which impacts the most on women. There are
rapes and murders and of course, the inevitable results of battle. Then,
the Mujahideen is victorious over the Soviets, but they soon degenerate
into warlords striving with each other for control of territory. This,
too impacts on women when the rockets explode over their homes and kill
them and their children. The men never stop to think about the loss of
life. They are only concerned with winning, no matter the cost. The last
and most difficult rulers of Afghanistan are the Taliban. Their strict
adherence to Shari'a forces women into their home with no way to support
their children, forces them to cover with the burqa to further wipe out
their individuality, denies them even basic health care by closing their
hospitals, and then punishes them if they break any of the laws the Taliban
have set down. It is basic cruelty for no reason other than they are women.
The theme of the discrimination of women reinforces how cruel men can
be against the feminine side of a culture. Women are never really free
even when the government is more democratic, because of the belief that
the Koran allows them to have total control over their wives. A man, like
Rasheed, can decide, even when women are relatively modern, that their
wives must wear the burqa. They can beat them and even kill them in the
name of their honor. They can keep them at home and deny them basic rights
without punishment. All of this is further forced upon all women, no matter
the attitudes of their husbands, when the Taliban comes to power. Laila's
Babi believed that a society could not flourish if their women were suppressed.
This can be seen in wartorn Afghanistan.
Another theme that is emphasized throughout is that of loyalty and devotion.
The female characters know the reward as well as the heartache of this
emotion, yet they ccontinue to feel it for those they love and need. Mariam,
for example cannot quite stop loving her father, Jalil, even though he
turns his back on her and forces her to marry Rasheed. Then, she comes
to love and respect Laila and never stops being loyal and devoted, giving
what they call the last full measure for her and her children - her life.
Laila loves Tariq, but when he and his family flee Afghanistan, she refuses
to marry him and leave with them, because she loves and feels too great
a devotion to her parents. Later, even though she doesn't want to marry
Rasheed, she does so to protect her unborn baby. Finally, even though
she is devoted to Mariam, she knows her devotion to her children takes
precedence and forces her to leave her country when staying would mean
her death and no one to care for the children.
The rising action begins with Mariam's story of her childhood and ends
with the climax which is the death of Rasheed at Mariam's hands.
After Rasheed is dead, the two women hide his body in the shed and then
make plans to escape the country. Mariam knows all along that they cannot
both go, because then they might both be caught and there will be no one
to care for and protect Laila's children. So, even though Laila is convinced
they can make it together, Mariam refuses to leave, willing to face death
rather than Laila dying, too. Mariam is executed by the Taliban, and Laila
comes to live for awhile in Murree, Pakistan with Tariq and the children.
She eventually realizes that to honor the sacrifices of her parents and
Mariam, she must return to her country to be one of thos who strive to
rebuild it. She says goodbye to Mariam at the kolba in Herat and
she and her family go back to Kabul.
It is written third person point of view from the perspective of an omniscient
narrator.
Clapsaddle, Diane. "TheBestNotes on A Long Way Gone".
TheBestNotes.com.
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