Summary: In these chapters, thirty one and thirty two, a conflict began between Mariam and Laila. Mariam despised Laila for coming in on her marriage. Rasheed likes Laila more than he does Mariam and asked her to be Laila’s servant. They both refused and Mariam started to give Laila work to do around the house. Laila gave Rasheed the news that she was pregnant, and he went to pray for a boy. Winter came, and the war raging around Kabul intensified. Laila began to go out wearing a burqua, which was new to her. She and Mariam got in a huge fight, and when Laila fled upstairs, the baby kicked.
In these chapters, thirty three and thirty four, Laila had a baby girl who she named Aziza. Rasheed became angry with the baby and Laila, and then began beating Mariam for teaching Laila to talk back to him. Laila came to help Mariam, and Rasheed did not beat her severely. Mariam began to adore Aziza, and began to do nice things for Laila and Aziza, beginning to reconcile their feud. Mariam and Laila repaired their relationship, and became friendly with each other. Laila planned to run away from Rasheed, and stole money from him week by week, building up enough to escape.
Analysis: The importance of chapter thirty three and thirty four lies in the relationship between two wives, which again shows the horrible treatment of women in Afghanistan. The fact that one man could marry another woman against his wife’s will shows their lowly status. The disrespect and unkindness that MAriam and Laila show each other here becomes important later, as their relationship will be stronger because of it. Their dislike is mostly a result of Mariam’s resent for Laila marrying Rasheed and her unhappy childhood.
Aziza, the daughter tat Laila had in these chapters, is the baby that Mariam never had. As she and Azizz began to get along better, and Mariam fixed her relationship with Laila, Mariam began to feel needed by somebody. She felt that somebody cared for her, which began to repair her childhood trauma. Laila’s weekly gathering of money from Rasheed strengthened her resolve to run away, and set up the stage for the next advance in plot. Laila prevented Mariam from being beaten severely be Rasheed, furthering her sense of being worth something and her care for Laila.
