Resistance, a Facet of Post-colonialism in Women Characters of Khaled Hosseini’s a Thousand Splendid Suns

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature
ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online)
Vol. 2 No. 3; May 2013
Copyright © Australian International Academic Centre, Australia
Resistance, a Facet of Post-colonialism in Women Characters
of Khaled Hosseini’s a Thousand Splendid Suns Marzieh Gordan (Corresponding author)
School of Language Studies and Linguistics, University Kebangsaan Malaysia
Tel: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]
Areej Saad Almutairi
School of Language Studies and Linguistics, University Putra Malaysia
Tel: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]
Received: 06-02-2013 Accepted: 08-04-2013 Published: 01-05-2013
doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.2n.3p.240 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.2n.3p.240
Abstract
This article looks at female level of resistance though the viewpoint of post-colonialism and feminism based on Khaled
Hosseini’s novel, Thousand Splendid Suns. The article concentrates on levels of resistance as a part of Afghan female's
lifestyle against the gender oppression that are enforced on them through their lifestyle and culture, the objectives of
their community and its standards. The novel is selected for the discussion of this problem as it shows the conflicts
experienced by Afghan females in regards to their positions and roles in their community and to find a unique
identification as an individual. Findings on the conflicts of females and the level of resistance factors are seen in the
novel though the analysis of the two primary characters in the novel Maryam and Laila, as the reflection of the truth of
Afghan female's lifestyle. The framework for the article is designed by using Stephen Selmon’s, Edward Said’s and
Benita Parry’s theories of level of resistance in the perspective of post-colonial and feminist literary discussion. This
paper shows the observations created in regards to beliefs, gender discrimination and level of resistance within the area
of Afghan female's lifestyle.
Keywords: female resistance, post-colonialism, feminism, identity, representation
1. Introduction
This research has drawn my attention and increased my understanding of the ways in which females deal with the
demands of satisfying expectations of others, namely members of the family and community. This particular written
text shows that in the perspective of Afghan womanhood, females experience conflicts when they try to fit into the
public tasks and search for their personal identification at the same time. It also shows that Afghan females display a
very simple yet resolute method of level of resistance that highlights the originality of Afghan feminity within their
culture and community. By drawing back to their history and creative elements of their culture, Afghan females retell
their tale of their situation, identities and desires of the eyes of Afghan woman's existence.
An Afghan-American author, Khaled Hosseini, was well-known as the 2006 Humanitarian of the Year by the U.S.
office of the United Nations. A famous author who got his reputation, through his first novel The Kite Runner. A
Thousand Splendid Suns, is its companion: a story of females, about affection and hatred, and resistance. A Thousand
Splendid Suns guide us see the females under the burqas against the patriarchal male dominated society of Afghan.
The novel symbolizes problems of the struggle for liberalization at two levels, as post-colonial individuals and as
females. In the post-colonial viewpoints, A Thousand Splendid Suns reveals conflicts of identifying and identification
with regards to encounter in Afghan individual in the native lifestyle. While through the feminist viewpoint, the novel
provides problems of struggle of Afghan females to find their own self-identity, revealed from the picture identified by
patriarchal components and principles. The fundamental concern of the viewpoint is to notice the marginal position of
post-colonial females in the societies that they live in.
The diagrams below report reflects citations to source items indexed within Web of Science. And it is about the
women's resistance publications and number of citations that yearly have been done and cited, still continue by other
authors from 2001 till today. But by increasing the number of citation we can say the topic that I have chosen for my
article is a well-known area among the different writers till end of 2012 although it had a little decline in 2012. So issue
of women and their struggle for empowering themselves always have been at the canter of attention as you can see
below.

IJALEL 2 (3):240-247, 2013 241
Citations in Each Year
Published Items in Each Year
The theoretical framework of the idea of the level of resistance for this analysis is derived from experts such as
BenitaParry (1997), Stephen Selmon (1997), and Edward Said (1993) Parry (1997:84-101) underline some of the
methods of how level of resistance is indicated in literary works though her essay, ‘Resistance Theory/Theorizing
Resistance or Two Cheers for Nativism’. ‘Unsettling the Empire: Resistance Theory for the Second World’, Selmon
(1997:72-83) focus on several explanations of literary level of resistance in post-colonial analysis. In the Parekh’s
content ‘Redefining the post-colonial Females Self’ (1996: 270-283), the idea of the level of resistance is provided in
regards to the global perspective of post-colonial Afghan women.
The four women figures indicate the conflicts and problems of Afghan women across different classes of society. The
novel focuses these problems though the actions, behavior, thoughts and awareness of Maryam, Nana, Laila and Fariba
regard their role as women in their community and the problems they face in the course of their lives as Afghan women.
Based on the level of resistance is determined when the figures decline or restore the positions and picture of Afghan
women by not satisfying the objectives or superseding the standards of their lifestyle and community. The reflection of
Afghan women as resisting women is determined through the types and forms of level of resistance represented by
Maryam, Nana, Laila and Fariba in the novel. Although this article includes only the evaluation of the characters of the
novel through the recognition of the element of level of resistance, it is important because the idea of the level of
resistance is examined is in two viewpoints, post-colonialism and feminism.
There are two main objectives of this article. The first is to recognize the element level of resistance outlined or
portrayed through characteristics, mind-set and changes of the female characters in the selected novel, Khaled Hossein’s
A Thousand Splendid Suns and to evaluate the element of level of resistance both in the viewpoint of post-coloniality
and feminism in the viewpoint of Afghan females and their society which they live.
2. Postcolonialism and Feminist Critical Studies: An Overview
2.1 Post-colonialism
The main features of post-colonial studies in the world of literature next to the level of resistance consist of indignity,
drawback and alienation, displacement and hybridity. Post-colonial research is self-discipline that is still changing and
growing as it provides reasons for several questionable and controversial topics and problems. As Deepika Bahri (1996)
states in her article ‘‘Coming to Terms with the “post-colonial”, the area of post-colonial literary studies have been
relevant to other crucial research such as feminism, postmodernism, deconstruction and post-structuralism.

IJALEL 2 (3):240-247, 2013 242
2.2 Feminism
Interpreting feminist writing is one of the popular projects of feminist critique. The meaning becomes difficult because
of several factors. One of them is that the meaning varies according to the political ideology, social backdrop and the
objective of works by different authors. The second purpose is that there seem to be many different genres of feminist
criticisms that position different concentrates in each of the genres (Pam Morris : 1993). Because of these inconsistent
roles within feminism itself, there appear several meanings according to the particular perspective and the main focus of
the authors and critics in a particular work or categories of work of feminism.
Cheri Register (1975) in American Feminist Literary Criticism states that feminist literature must have served as a
forum for women, contribute to gain cultural androgyny, supply role-models, encourage unity among women and
raising awareness (1975:18-19). You can’t just quote things, you need to apply them in the context of your discussion
and expand critically. Also, this isn’t a research proposal, it’s an actual article so you should be more sophisticated in
your subheadings.
3. Postcoloniality and the Discourse of Resitance
3.1 The Basis of Postcolonial Resistance
Level of resistance organizes the basic part of post-colonial writing. The published discourse supplies the contrivance
and language becomes the procedure for indicating resistance towards the colonialist principles and development for the
post-colonial authors. Zawiah Yahya’s (1994) indictment estimated above factors the strong factors of the written
discourse, particularly in literary works and academia. This supports the need for post-colonial authors to implement the
discourse not only to “re-examine and resist the claims” (Zawiah Yahya 1994: 11) of the colonialist discourse but also
to reproduce the authentic identification and carry ahead the world of the colonized individuals to the front.
Edward Said’s idea of the post-colonial level of resistance is taken is one of his popular texts, Culture and Imperialism
(1993). Going away from the extreme overall tone of the colonial level of resistance such as Fanon’s opinions, Said
(1993) indicates that the decolonization of social level of resistance does not plan to absolutely repudiate the colonizers
element in the forming of new post-colonial identities. Alternatively, the level of resistance is determined by
“intertwining histories” (Said 1993:259) of the colonizer and the colonized, linking the gap between the western
societies and the native.
The connection between feminism and literature can be found mainly by means of substances and device. Feminism is
the substance and the literary text become the product in which the material is designed and idealized to get the accurate
reflection of the woman's world from a particular viewpoint. Level of resistance in feminist literature can be considered
at two perspectives. The first in the challenging of the credibility of the male dominated or patriarchal literary tradition
that misrepresents and undermines the women identification and encounters. The second resistance is considered in the
renovation of new identities of women, which bring ahead the women discussion at the center of attention from the non-
existence or ‘silenced’ space of masculine discourse.
4. Stephen Selmon’s Definition of Resistance
Selmon (1997) states that these groups often conflict with each other in the pedagogical area and literary practice.
Illustrating from the last aspect, Selmon (1997) further clarifies the meaning and types of level of resistance that he has
taken from critiques like Barbara Harlow, Selwyn Cudjoe, Jenny Sharpe, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha,
Benita Parry and Jan Mohamed. By stating from Harlow (1987) and Cudjoe (1980), he creates the first level of meaning
of resistance as, “ an act or set of acts designed to release the people of its tyrants, and it so thoroughly introduces the
experience of living under domination and pressure that it turns to be an almost autonomous principle” (Selmon
1997:77-78). This meaning is linked to this article as the element of level of resistance is portrayed through the
connection of the oppressors and the masculine dominator and the oppresses as the female subject. The act of level of
resistance is determined through the growth of the female characters in the novel as in the actions, behavior and ideas as
their responses to the situation of being physically or mentally oppressed.
The second definition that Stephen Selmon (1997:78) derives from Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and
Benita Parry is as follows:
“A theory of literary resistance must recognize the inescapable partiality, the incompeleteness
and the untrascendable ambiguity of literary or any contradiction or contestarory act which
employ a Fist World medium for the figuration of the Third World resistance”(Selmon 1997:78).
Here the level of resistance is determined in regards to the dominant figure (the First World) through the recognition of
the tendencies of the reflection and development of the Third World. In both explanations, literary level of resistance is
underlined as a type of device or procedure to show the idea of staying away from accepting or producing to an
imposition of developing positions or images by the dominant power. The major dominant figure of the First Globe in
post-colonial concept is seen as a similarity of the patriarchal culture and principles in the Afghan community, as the
representation of oppression of the women characters in A Thousand Splendid Suns.
5. Benita Parry’s Notion of Resistance
In her theory ‘Resistance Theory/Theorizing Resistance or Two Cheers for Nativism’, Benita Parry (1997: 84-101)
creates a structure of ways in which level of resistance is shown through the post-colonial viewpoint. One of her factors
known as nativism however, is another important factor that utilizes reverse-discourse as a way to show the level of