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The Daily Insight

How many miscarriages does Mariam have

Author

Isabella Browning

Updated on April 07, 2026

Mariam is 19 years old and has been married to Rasheed for four years, during which time she’s suffered six more miscarriages. The chapter opens with news that Mir Akbar Khyber, a noted communist, has been murdered.

How many times did Mariam miscarry?

“In this most essential way, she had failed him—seven times she had failed him – and now she was nothing but a burden to him. She could see it in the way he looked at her, when he looked at her. She was a burden to him” (99-100).

Does Mariam get pregnant?

After a doctor confirms that Mariam is pregnant, Rasheed begins preparing their home for the baby. The couple celebrate with Rasheed’s family and friends. Mariam feels love for her child, and she prays to Allah that He will not take this blessing from her.

Does Mariam have a miscarriage?

Rasheed suggests he and Mariam go to the haman, or bathhouse, where Mariam suffers a miscarriage. … At the bathhouse, Mariam, surrounded by hot water and steam, suffers a miscarriage.

Who does Mariam blame for miscarriage?

Mariam grapples with her grief over the miscarriage, wavering between sadness and anger as she tries to blame first Rasheed, then God, for her loss.

How was Mariam killed?

He dies. Laila and the children leave the following day, while Mariam stays to take the punishment for the murder. She’s arrested by the Taliban and stoned to death.

Does Mariam have a child?

During her long marriage to Rasheed, Mariam’s inability to have children turns her into a resentful, bitter, and fearful woman. This helps her understand her own mother better, and Mariam’s life changes with the arrival of Laila, Rasheed’s second wife.

Why is Rasheed abusive?

Mariam needed someone to love and to love her back. Why does Rasheed become abusive? Rasheed becomes abuse because she can’t have children.

What happens to Mariam?

Taliban unjustly convicted her with a death sentence and dismissed her version of defense. On the day of her execution, she was taken to the football stadium and executed amidst a large crowd gathered there to witness this horrendous act.

What page does Mariam kills Rasheed?

Chapter 45 marks a significant turning point for Mariam. It shows the culmination of all her life’s experiences: the pain and sorrow Rasheed has caused her, as well as the joy and love she feels with Laila, force her to kill Rasheed.

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How did Rasheed abuse Mariam?

At dinner, Rasheed spits out the rice Mariam’s made, telling her it’s undercooked. Rasheed storms outside and brings in a handful of pebbles, which he forces Mariam to chew. Two of her molars break.

Who is telling the truth about Mariam's birth?

Mariam’s parents tell her conflicting stories of her birth. Nana tells Mariam that she was alone in the hut, lying on the floor for two days with a knife by her side to cut the umbilical cord; Jalil did not come to visit his daughter for over a month.

What happens to Mariam after she kills Rasheed?

Mariam ends up killing Rasheed to protect Laila. Mariam remains in Kabul to take the blame and is executed by the Taliban. Laila, Tariq, and the kids move to Tariq’s home in Murree, where life is comfortable. After the U.S. invasion, however, Laila decides to return to Kabul.

How did Rasheed's first wife died?

Before marrying Mariam, he had already been married once before, but his wife and son had died—his son drowned while Rasheed was drunk and passed out.

What three things does Mariam find in Rasheed's?

On the last day of Eid, Mariam feels sick to her stomach, and makes tea while she cleans up the mess from the men last night. She finds herself in Rasheed’s room, where she slides open the top drawer of his dresser, feeling guilty. She finds his gun, and then a magazine filled with pictures of naked women.

Does Mariam forgive Jalil?

Hosseini gives Mariam many Christ-like qualities in the novel like forgiveness. Like Jesus, Mariam shows forgiveness in the novel towards Jalil when she reflects “he’d not been a good father, it was true, but how ordinary his faults seemed now, how forgivable, when compared to Rasheed’s malice” (309).

How is Mariam a mother figure to Laila?

As a harami, she’s forbidden taking part in “the things other people had, things such as love, family, home, acceptance” (1.1. … Mariam finds the family that she never thought she’d have in Laila and Aziza. Mariam becomes a mother figure to Laila—she even frequently identifies herself as Laila’s mother to other people.

What did Laila learn Mariam?

Through her growing relationship with Mariam, Laila not only takes comfort in having a friend and mother figure, but also begins to understand the sacrifices that are necessary to be a good mother by following Mariam’s example.

How many children does Mariam have in A Thousand Splendid Suns?

On the outskirts of Herat, Mariam lives with her embittered mother, Nana, in a secluded hut. Born as a result of an extra-marital liaison between her mother and Jalil, a wealthy local businessman, the family live outside of the city in order to avoid confronting Jalil’s three wives and nine legitimate children.

Why does Mariam go to jail?

She is in prison, because she had been promised to a man thirty years older than her. So, she eloped with the son of a local mullah with whom she had fallen in love. They were quickly caught and sent back.

What were the 3 final things Mariam asked for?

Her final thoughts include a wish for more of life and for a chance to watch Aziza grow up, but in the end she has no regrets. Mariam knows she did what was best for Laila, Aziza, and Zalmai.

When did Mariam marry Rasheed?

When she is fifteen, Mariam, forced into marriage with forty-year old Rasheed, moves to Kabul to start a life with her husband.

What secret does Laila have about her daughter Aziza?

Aziza pesters them with questions to hide her growing anxiety. They meet with Zaman, the director, and he interviews Laila while Mariam entertains Aziza in the hall. Laila finds it odd as she tells a lie that’s also the truth: that Aziza’s father is dead.

What age should you read A Thousand Splendid Suns?

ISBN:9780747585893Format:PaperbackPagination:432 pagesSuitable for:13+ readersRecommendations:eBooks

Is A Thousand Splendid Suns a true story?

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a work of fiction, which means it is not true. However, all of the locations mentioned are real places, and many of the…

Where does Mariam sleep that night?

Mariam refuses to leave and spends the night sleeping on the street outside the gates to Jalil’s house.

Why does Mariam say yes in the marriage ceremony to Rasheed?

Why does Mariam finally say “yes” in the marriage ceremony to Rasheed? … Jalil wanted her to go along with the marriage. Mariam knows that Jalil does not really want her, and he will not allow her to stay. She realizes that Jalil, like his wives, wants Mariam gone.

What chapter does Mariam get married?

Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter 8. The next morning, Mariam is given new clothes to wear for the wedding ceremony.

Why does Rasheed marry Laila?

Laila agrees to marry Rasheed because she is pregnant with Tariq’s child and knows she would be shunned for having a child out of wedlock. She also knows her child, and she, will need to be cared for. … Rasheed is focused on having a son and doesn’t appreciate having a healthy child.

Why is Laila stealing money from Rasheed?

Rasheed warns Laila that if he’d better never discover her in a lie. This confrontation makes Laila worry about her newly formed plan: to take the money she’s secretly been stealing from Rasheed to escape to Peshawar in the spring.

What do Mariam and Laila bury in the backyard?

One night, he brings home a TV and VCR that he bought at the black market specifically for Zalmai. … In fact, Laila and Mariam are digging a hole in the backyard to bury the TV until those raids die down. That night, Laila has a dream that she is burying Aziza alive in the backyard.