Khaled Hosseini's A thousand splendid suns does more than tell the story of two ordinary women struggling in war-torn Afghanistan, but describes what would happen if the Olympians Mount Olympus was sent to live in the country during the pre- and post-Taliban years. The purpose behind Hosseini's symbolic characters is to show that men and women are both capable of incredible feats. Hosseini wrote a feminist novel with A Thousand Splendid Suns. The characters in Hosseini's novel are representatives of the Olympians from Greek mythology to demonstrate how these actions have been commonplace for years but that does not mean they should be accepted. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Hosseini uses the character Rasheed and his connection to the Greek god Zeus to show how historically men have been given an abundance of power, just for being born male, and this power is accompanied by a superiority complex that leads them to believing that all women are inferior to them and should be treated accordingly. The introduction to Rasheed scares the audience with the description of how physically massive and menacing the man appears. Hosseini writes: “Mariam smelled it before she saw it. Cigarette smoke and thick, sweet cologne, not as weak as Jalil's... The size of it made her gasp, and she had to look down, her heart pounding wildly. She sensed him lingering in the doorway, then his slow, heavy movement across the room. The bowl of sweets on the table jingled in tune with his steps” (Hosseini 52). Suddenly the reason why Zeus always takes the form of other creatures during his sexual conquests makes more sense. Like Zeus, Rasheed's appearance alone is oppressive, although in the God's case, women are actually burned alive after seeing his true form. Rasheed apparently takes up more space in the room than Mariam can have and Hosseini writes knowing that this detail will make the audience uncomfortable even though it is cliché for the story he is telling. Rasheed, like Zeus, has the ability to collect romantic partners without being scorned. Both Zeus and Rasheed's wives get angry whenever their husbands find other romantic partners but they never divorce or leave these men because they can't. Regarding courting Laila, Rasheed tells Mariam, “Think of it this way, Mariam. I'm giving you help around the house and she's giving you shelter. A house and a husband... Well, I'd say this is really charitable of me... The way I see it, I deserve a medal” (Hosseini 216). Rasheed asks for praise for something Mairam should just do, invite someone else to his house. Hosseini has Rasheed exercise his power in this way so that we can see how Rasheed, and their society as a whole, views men as the only gender capable of maintaining a prosperous family. Hosseini is pushing his audience to understand that this mentality is ancient and that society should have overcome it by now. Another defining quality that Rasheed and Zeus share is the way they punish those around them using brute force. Rasheed carries his belt in the same menacing way that Zeus carries his thunderbolt. Hosseini's novel writes: “His powerful hands gripped her jaw. He stuck two fingers in her mouth and opened it, then pushed the cold, hard pebbles in. Mariam fought against them, mumbling, but he continued to insinuate the problems, his upper lip curled into a sneer… Through a mouth full of sand and pebbles, Mariam murmured a plea. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyeseyes” (Hosseini 104). It is important to note that this occasion is just one of many times that Rasheed physically abused his wives (mental and emotional abuse was also present in his relationships) and received no repercussions for his actions. The world Rasheed lives in has taught him that he is free to treat women however he wants because, as a man, he is above them. He sees no fault in his behavior, but Hosseini proved this to his audience by placing women at the center of his story instead of a character like Rasheed. Mariam was written to be Hera's version of the novel so that Hosseini could show a woman who was born into an unjust society, realized the inequalities put in place and dedicated her life trying to be more than what the company thought it was. Often in Greek mythology, Hera is known only as the wife of Zeus, but both Mairam and Hera earned names that went beyond being decorations for their husbands. Mariam and Hera show resilience as they face the daily struggle of being a woman reduced to being a servant to her husband and nothing more. Mariam had lost seven of her children and the emotional weight of this affected her for life. The text describes the moment when she buries her first child (Hosseini 96) and she cries for months afterward. Mariam is forced to feel this pain of never having a child just as Rasheed is allowed to have children with Laila and doesn't suffer the same loss. In Greek mythology, Hera remains faithful only to Zeus while Zeus is known to be the playboy of the Gods and is free to do whatever he wants and whoever he wants. Mariam has fallen victim to her society's standards, so when she can't seem to meet those standards (not having a child), she only sees herself the way the world says she should, worthless. Hosseini, however, argues that Mariam is extremely important and that the weight of her “usefulness” should not be proportionate to the amount of children she can bear. Mariam continues to bear a resemblance to Hera in that they are both victims of their circumstances. Mariam becomes jealous of Rasheed's treatment of Laila and retaliates by saying, "'I wouldn't have fed you, I wouldn't have washed you and nursed you if I had known that you would turn your back and steal my husband from me'" (Hosseini 226) . The moment is significant for Mariam because she realizes that she doesn't have to simply follow the rules that society has put in place for her. Instead, like Hera, she takes matters into her own hands and takes control of her life in a way that was not normal for women of the time. Hosseini uses the moments where Mariam stands up for herself as heroic feats so that the audience can see that women having voices is a good thing. It educates audiences in a way that makes them want to see women thrive in a society that treats them like losers. Mariam spent much of her early life being called harami, a bastard, despite having had no role in her own creation. Hosseini writes, “The creators of the harami are guilty, not the harami, whose only sin is to be born” (Hosseini 4). The line directly addresses how Mariam is not responsible for the inferior way society views her. The joke is the first time the audience is shown the perspective that women are not to blame for being seen as objects, but the community around them should be blamed for thinking an entire group of people were so low. Laila's role in the story is similar to the goddess Athena in how Laila grew up intelligent enough to realize society's flaws and was willing to challenge them to change them. Athena was chosen as Zeus' favorite daughter, just as Laila is (initially) Rasheed's favorite. As.