Compare and contrast the presentation of female oppression in Christina Rossetti, The
Complete Poems, and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Examine the view that women suffer under a patriarchal society.
Female oppression is readily apparent in both Hosseini’s ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ and
Rossetti’s ‘The Complete Poems’. Despite the difference in context of these texts, both
writers convey a patriarchal society that denies women access to the power exploited by
men. The presentation of both Laila and Mariam’s suffering, especially in their united
struggle against Rasheed, was constructed by Hosseini with the intention of providing 'some
identity to the nameless, faceless women in burqa' (Mudge 2007); through their voices
educating readers of the collective plight of oppressed women in Afghanistan. Rossetti’s
insight into the lives of women over 100 years earlier similarly draws her reader’s attention to
female oppression as her subjects are denied status, rights, and voices. In presenting the
physical and mental strain this causes, the suffering of women is emphasised. This
demonstrates that literature across time has intended to depict the suffering that countless
women have been forced to endure; emphasising that a society that rewards men at the
expense of women undeniably leaves women in a position of vulnerability.
Both Rossetti and Hosseini present the imbalance of power within patriarchal relationships
as a cause of suffering for women as they are treated as objects which ‘belong’ to the power
of their husbands. Masculine authority is asserted from the onset of Mariam’s relationship
with Rasheed. When the mullah asks her if she accepts Rasheed as her husband, she is
hesitant to respond, resulting in the question being asked ‘once more, this time more
forcefully’, emphasising that in reality she has no choice but to say yes. Despite the ‘wedding
band’ being tight, ‘Rasheed had no trouble forcing it over her knuckles’, and although she
asserts ‘I don’t want this. Don’t make me’, the wedding proceeds as her voice goes unheard
against the power of the patriarchy. Given the context of 1990s Afghanistan society where
arranged marriages were common, Mariam’s reality is not dissimilar to that of other Afghan
women who also had little choice in their marriages. Through depicting the imbalance of
power in Mariam’s relationship with Rasheed, Hosseini explores the damaging impact that
misogynistic attitudes have on women. In contrast, through the poem ‘No, Thank You, John’,
Rossetti’s voice posits that ‘I’d rather answer ‘No’ to fifty Johns than answer ‘Yes’ to you’.
Avery argues, ‘what this poem asserts is the woman’s right to say ‘no’ and to claim
independence and agency for herself’ (Avery 2014). Although Rossetti arguably believed in
this ‘right’, her poetry implies that this did not give women a guaranteed passage to freedom
of choice in relationships. By indicating that ‘John’ has been beseeching her love ‘day by
day’, Rossetti perhaps implies that men in this period felt entitled in their choice of partner.
Furthermore, the rights of Victorian women were legally given over to her husband,
suggesting that Rossetti’s poem is not an accurate representation of the power balance in
Victorian relationships. It is, however, clear the denial of power Hosseini’s female characters
face contrasts with the voice Rossetti provides her subject with. After their weddings, Mariam
and Laila are the property of Rasheed, enhancing the suffering they experience. As
Rasheed compares Mariam to a ‘Volga’, in contrast to the ‘brand-new, first-class, shiny
Benz’
of Laila, Hosseini demonstrates that women in this patriarchal society are seen as
commodities, objectified by men for their benefit. This comparison highlights that Laila is
, valued above Mariam for her age and perceived virginity; depicting the most important
attributes for a woman in this society to hold. Similarly, in Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’, women
belong to the goblin men; ‘like wands of ivory tipp’d with gold for awful kings’. The
connection between the pure and valuable ‘ivory’ and the ‘awful kings’, despite their clear
juxtaposition, demonstrates how a woman's value is intrinsically linked with the corrupt
position of power occupied by men who own her. Rasheed is advantaged by his patriarchal
status and ability to objectify Mariam in his sexual relationship; despite her assertion that ‘’I
can’t’’, ‘his hand crept lower still’, emphasising that his sexual needs are more prominent in
the relationship. Through this, Hosseini reiterates the risks of commodifying women, as
Mariam is consequently held in a position of inescapable suffering.
Arguably, Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’ is a metaphor for the sexual temptation of women,
which
they fall victim to. McLaughlan suggests that ‘for Rossetti, the act of looking is bound up with
temptation. The poem displays a complex understanding of the voyeur as an agent of
suffering; that looking, but never possessing, eating, experiencing, and so on, represents a
tantalising form of suffering’ (McLaughlan 2015). This implies that women are vulnerable to
the irresistible power of a man’s sexuality which in this case Laura is tempted by as she is
unable to control her desire. In buying from the goblin men with ‘a precious golden lock’, she
surrenders to them and gives away part of her highly valued, metaphorically ‘golden’, female
identity. This accentuates her vulnerability in comparison to the sexual power they hold over
her, as after the transaction, part of her belongs to the goblin men. She can therefore be
likened to Mariam and Laila whose rights and identity are transferred to Rasheed once they
are married to him. This power shift results in Laura’s exposure to the violence that the
goblin men are capable of, which is recognised by Cluley who states; ‘even the goblin’s offer
a warning: ‘come buy’ admits there is a price to be paid’ (Cluley 2010). Through this,
Rossetti demonstrates that the sexual hold of the goblin men gives them access to control a
woman’s life; potentially condemning them to suffering. Both writers therefore highlight that
the imbalance of power in the patriarchy leaves women in a position of greater vulnerability,
exposing them to suffering in their relationships.
The imbalance of power in relationships is highlighted by the lack of coherence in the way
different genders are treated; especially prevalent in the demanding expectations set out for
women by the patriarchy. This double standard is widely conveyed in the portrayal of both
societies. Nana’s illegitimate pregnancy results in her and Mariam living a life of exclusion
from wider society, whereas Jalil escapes society’s accusing finger by claiming that ‘it was
[Nana’s] fault’. Hosseini demonstrates that this is inevitable in a patriarchal society as ‘like a
compass needle that always points North, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman’.
Consequently, Mariam is condemned to a life of suffering as a ‘harami’, a term which is
ingrained into her from the age of five. She, therefore, internalises the belief that she is like
‘a weed… something you rip out and toss aside’. Resultantly, during childhood she is
excluded from the life her siblings lead, living as ‘a walking, breathing embodiment of their
shame’. As in Rossetti’s poem ‘Shut Out’, which could be an analogy for female exclusion
from society as a result of a moral crime, Mariam is treated with a feeling of ‘otherness’,
whilst her father ‘creator of the harami’, walks free. Despite Jalil’s role in this societal crime,
as a man it is his prerogative in a patriarchal society to escape blame. Mariam pays the
consequence for this, carrying the weight of ‘their shame’ throughout her life, highlighted by
the continued use of the word ‘harami’ in Hosseini’s narrative. Even in Mariam’s final
