'Artists, as witnesses for the future, have a duty to collect forgotten figures, to rescue them from historical neglect'
Compare and contrast the way Hosseini and Walker explore the experience of women in the societies they present in their respective novels.
Hosseini and Walker base their novels around two central characters suffering in a neglected and patriarchal society. Georgia born Alice Walker used the racism of the American South to deeply influence her writing and life’s work and male Afghan born Khaled Hosseini, basing the novel after travelling back to Afghan to examine for himself the nation’s situation in the aftermath of decades of turmoil. Both female characters in the novels are dominated by male figures, Celie in 'The Color Purple', subject to her violent father and husband and Mariam in 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' being controlled by her arranged marriage husband, Rasheed. The two characters are unfairly portrayed as weak victims but both progress and grow as characters throughout the novels, growing up and becoming stronger individuals. The experiences of the women in both novels are presented through similar themes such as marriage, education and relationships with other women, although they are presented in different ways. Hosseini and Walker use different perspectives as Celie narrates in the first person using a vernacular writing style which gives a much more personable feel to the story, whereas 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is narrated in the third person, giving a more overall view of characters feelings and emotions.
Set in the first half of the twentieth century, 'The Color Purple' presents a society where black males have been emasculated by the government. Rasheed’s ever increasing violent nature comes across towards his demise as the Taliban get stronger, “Let’s see them try and break into my house, I’ll crush their balls!” this shows his pent up frustration and anger at the government, as he knows there’s nothing he can do to fight against the power. Black Americans were at the bottom of the social chain and black women even lower, Celie represents the way women were treated at that time, and tells her story by writing letters. “He beat me today ‘cause he say I winked at a boy in church.” This shows that the way women were treated was both demoralising and disrespectful. The reader sees that Walkers purpose was to present Celie as weak as she does not answer back to the men in her life such as her father. Similarly, Hosseini shows Mariam as a weak character at first when her father sets up an arranged marriage for her. “This is the face of my husband, Mariam thought” This shows Mariam's disagrees strongly to the situation, as before this she describes him as “not pretty” but she fails to outwardly express this and we see the character accepting her fate, showing weakness. Under the Taliban rule, women were no longer in control of their life decisions. They encouraged girls under the age of 16 to enter into marriage. "Amnesty International reported that 80 percent of Afghan marriages were considered to be by force". Early on in both novels, both protagonists sex life are something to be ‘endured’. “This life soon over, heaven lasts always,” They both saw their lives as pointless and painful. This shows the similarities in the antagonist’s personalities and demonstrates their bleak outlook on life.
Though ‘The Color Purple’ is a historical novel, it never refers to any factual events. There are no dates, little sense of the passage of time, and very few mentions of characters’ ages. African-American critics complained that the novel reaffirmed old racist stereotypes about pathology in black communities and of black men in particular. Critics also charged Walker with focusing heavily on sexism at the expense of addressing notions of racism in America. Nonetheless, ‘The Color Purple’ also had its supporters, especially among black women and others who praised the novel as a feminist fable. The novel shows that of black Americans being oppressed in their own country and similarly in ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ the characters are under control of the ever growing power of the Taliban. The hard-line movement in Afghanistan made Afghans experience restrictions on their freedom and violations of their human rights.
Religion plays a big part in both novels and mutually, the women rely on religion and God in their lives to help them feel stronger. This point is much more clearly shown in ‘The Color Purple’ as the novel is made of letters that Celie writes, the majority of them being to God. This letter-writing style shows that Celie has no one in her life that she can turn to, God being the only one so the novel “Dear God” is used at the beginning of each letter which makes it become much more personal as it is like the reader understands Celie’s deep thoughts and emotions. At points in the novel, Celie feels like giving up on God, “Well, us talk and talk about God, but I’m still adrift. Trying to chase that old white man out of my head. I been so busy thinking ‘bout him I never truly notice nothing God” Shug tells Celie she does not need to give up on God altogether. She urges Celie to be creative and to see the presence of God in everything and everyone, as a sort of disembodied “it” with no race or gender, this reaffirms her belief that Celie can get by with God’s help. There are many references to god in the novel and the title ties in with the theme of religion also, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple and don’t notice it.” This shows that the women in the novel think of God as ‘one of them’, having real personable emotions, such as being annoyed in reaction to what people do. In ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ the theme of religion does not appear so clearly at the beginning of the novel, but progressively the society Mariam and others live in becomes an ever more increasing theocracy, put in place by the Taliban. “The Taliban were allowing these people to set up secret camps all over the country, where young men were being trained to become suicide bombers and jihadi fighters” This shows the power they were gaining and the control they had over Afghanistan. Mariam gets taught the views of religion in her society by Mullah Faizullah, “Gods words will never betray you, my girl” this tie in with the beliefs and religion in ‘The Color Purple’, that in a demoralised and unfair world; both characters find comfort and peace with god in some way.
As well as being the brunt of physical abuse in the novels, both characters also go through life uneducated. In ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’, the only informal type of education Mariam received was being tutored by Mullah Faizullah “Faizullah admitted to Mariam that, at times he did not understand the meaning of the Koran’s words”, this informal type of education reflects on Mariam throughout the novel, Hosseini shows that to be different; meaning uneducated or childless, was to be an outcast in ones society, very much reflective of the life Mariam led for so many years. This is similar to Celie, as throughout her lack of education is clear to see in her grammar and punctuation. “He never had a kine word to say about me.” The colloquial and frequently incorrect grammar gives the novel a more personal feel, and shows that Celie is uneducated without explicitly telling the reader. The lack of education both women receive disable them to live the life of freedom that they so desire as they do not have the knowledge and intelligence that formal education can offer to aid them in their lives. An interpretation could be that education is the defining reason for the characters sense of worthlessness and feel that they weren’t good enough, although it could be argued that both protagonists embraced their ‘unluckiness’ in life and this is what empowered them to be strong and ultimately stand up to male figures in their life.
The relationships with other women that both characters have are the main cause of Celie’s prolonged and Mariam’s brief happiness and contentment. The characters introduced to the novels are the antithesis of the protagonists, in ‘The Color Purple’; Shug is confident and outspoken and the strong bond that her and Celie make changes Celie and opens her eyes to new experiences and takes her on a journey throughout the novel. “Us sleep like sisters, me and Shug.” Though later, Celie and Shug’s relationship becomes more sisterly and familial; the intimate and sexual side does not disappear. In Shug and Celie’s relationship, Walker shows sexuality to be complex. Celie and Shug are sexual with one another, but they are simultaneously maternal, sisterly, friendly, and loving. Also her sister Nettie provides Celie with strong family bonds that are noticeable throughout the novel, “Nothing but death could keep me from it”, shows their strong relationship and this is what drives Celie to endure the negative experiences she goes through during the book. Unlike Celie, Mariam does not have any close female bonds till much later in the novel. With the death of her mother and being isolated in a new city with a new husband, Mariam lives very much by her mother’s saying, “Life is to be endured”, this shows the attitudes of women in modern day oppressive Afghanistan. However, the strong bond that Mariam creates with Laila gives Mariam strength and empowers her to stand up to Rasheed. “Mariam brought down the shovel. This time, she gave it everything she had.” The novel suggests that women have a strong ability to find strength and support in one another. Mariam never would have gained the strength to fight Rasheed if she had not gained confidence and love from Laila. Similarly, Celie’s strong bond with Shug enables her to do things she never would have done without her, such as starting her own business.
Both Walker and Hosseini portray female friendships as a means for women to summon the courage to tell stories, in turn, these stories allow women to gradually resist oppression and dominance. Both Celie and Mariam gain strength on their journey through the novel and become strong women. Another interpretation is that the women didn’t themselves become strong; they gain their power from the female bonds they form and use them as a shield to hide behind. However, it is rational to say the relationships both protagonists form with women act as a refuge in their lives, which are filled with male violence.
In 'A Thousand Splendid Suns', Hosseini uses pregnancy as a symbol of hope throughout the novel. Hosseini shows that even short-lived pregnancies can offer women (Mariam), an opportunity to be hopeful for the future despite her bleak living situation. “Mariam grieved for this baby, this particular child, who had made her so happy for a while.” In an Afghan society, a woman's value is often measured by her ability to bear children, making Mariam's character an outcast to her society. The conditions of the Taliban runs hospitals also made it extremely difficult for women to deliver their babies in a safe and sterile environment. “The wounded were bleeding to death. In operating rooms, limbs were being amputated without anaesthesia.” The unclean and unsafe surroundings invited bacteria and diseases were extremely common. Her difficulty conceiving makes her undesirable to her husband who wants children, “Now you know what you’ve given me in this marriage; bad food and nothing else.” Rasheed only sees Mariam as an object that can cook his dinner and help around the house, but fails. Contrasting with this cultural view is Celie's conditions, at the beginning of the novel a 'selling point' to Albert her husband was that she could no longer have any more children after already giving birth to both a girl and boy therefore he could "Do whatever he wanted to her". Celie can be 'used' in whichever way Albert wants, without the inconvenience of worrying of pregnancy, resulting in more children. “He beat me for dressing trampy but he do it to me anyway.” This shows the sheer lack of respect both protagonists receive for completely the opposite reasons. The reader can see that both societies treat women cruelly but for the contrary reasons regarding pregnancy and children.
“Shug act more manly than most men he say. You know Shug will fight, he say. Just like Sofia. She bound to live her life and be herself no matter what. Mr. think all this is stuff men do.” At the end of the novel, acceptance of differences is accepted, concerning gender roles, talents and sexual orientation. “I got love, I got work, I got money, friends and time.” It is clear that traditionally masculine traits such as assertiveness and physical strength are present in female as well as male characters as Celie’s character at the beginning of the novel would never have had these things, her new appointed masculine traits have now given her power and control over her own life. Both novels are presented in a word where men have been oppressed and in turn emasculated. Their constraints on life do not able them to have freedom or feel equal. The only way to make the males feel powerful in both novels is to treat women disrespectfully and as though they are objects, dehumanising them, therefore making them feel more in control, although at the end of ‘The Color Purple’, “I am so happy.” Shows how Celie’s social status and personality have clearly changed.
Both Hosseini and Walker present their characters in very effective ways, the experiences the two women go through are both compelling and keep the reader interested all throughout the novel. The journey the women go through mirror that of real life and well representative story of real life. The running themes throughout the novels are very similar and can be compared clearly, female relationships plays a big part in the stories and build the characters the writers try to create. Comparing this theme against the two books shows that even though the Afghan society is very different to that of the South American, living completely separate lives, the novels show that there is suffering all over the world regarding male abuse, dominance and women's lives being ruled by strong male figures. The experiences of the characters that Hosseini and Walker present do have differences, but ultimately tell the same story. That of living in an oppressed world but finding strength in yourself that others were able to give you and building a new life from that, being able to fight back and gain freedom in a life set of rules and regulations and fundamentally, gaining power and enabling freedom, which the two presented societies so desperately want.
Bibliography;
‘The Color Purple’ by Alice Walker
‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini
Emagazine – ‘Writing women’s voices’ article.
Wikipedia and Google – Background information on Afghan and America
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