A Thousand Splendid Suns Pg. 47-94

  After Mariam received the news that she is going to have an arranged marriage with Rasheed, the next day she was made to move across the country with her new husband. When she got to his home, she said it was no mansion compared to Jalil's house, but bigger than her and Nana's kolba. She felt out of place when she arrived at the new place she had to call home. Mariam could no longer hear the thirty squeaky floorboards, and hear the door creak. At first, Rasheed seemed to be a nice man, taking her out, showing her all different places of Kabul. But his anger began to worsen, when things did not go his way. He made her do things she did not want, such as when he made her wear a burqua, which covered all of her, except for her eyes. He always said to her, that her face is for him to see only, and no one else. 

 After a short time that they have been together, Mariam found out she was pregnant. She felt a sense of happiness, that things were going well for her now. Then few days after finding out she was pregnant, her husband took her to a bathhouse. When she was cleaning herself, she began to bleed. Mariam was devastated, she had lost the baby. Rasheed did not talk to her much after that incident, she was always alone in her room. Mariam was always looking at the other mothers and their children, thinking about if they now how lucky they were to have children of their own. 

 When Mariam turned nineteen, the things Rasheed would do and act worsened. She would always cook for him, clean for him, and be there for him hand and foot...but he never appreciated it. Ever since she had lost the baby, at age fifteen, she was not the same. She did not cook as well, and was never hopeful. Mariam was with a man that she barley knew, not knowing how his actions were like. Until one day, she was cooking rice for him. Rasheed took the plate, ate the rice, and then suddenly spit all the food out. He told her the rice was not boiled enough. He went outside, came back in quickly with a handful of pebbles. Rasheed told her to put them in her mouth and chew, she did as she was told. He said that is how the rice tasted like. She chewed and chewed, until he told her to spit it out. Blood and two broken teeth came out with the pebbles. 

More things happened in part one, but I only mentioned the most important parts. Even though every part is important. The things that Rasheed did to Mariam made me very aggravated. He has no feelings. I am surprised of  how tolerate and strong Mariam is. I do not understand how she can live like this, with a man that constantly yells and puts her down. Hopefully things will begin to get better, Mariam already had a harsh life, she deserves happiness.