33 Mariam slowly grew accustomed to this tentative but pleasant
companionship.Hosseini 267 Mariam feels that Laila has the same destiny like herself. As an illegal
daughter, she understands that it is very hard. Illegal children are like rubbish. They are thrown away. They are not admitted. In Afghanistan, an illegal child is
called as harami which also means something which must be ignored and thrown away. So, Laila forces herself to decide accepting Rasheed, because of she is
pregnant. Her pregnancy is illegal. It means she will face a big problem if she is not married yet. Laila tells her secret to Mariam. She believes that Mariam will
not tell to Rasheed. Mariam keeps the secret that Laila’s baby is not Rasheed’s daughter. Mariam loves Laila and her daughter. Mariam feels that Laila gives her
a brighter life. She is not alone any longer. But somehow, over these last months, Laila and Aziza, a harami like
herself, as it turned out had become extensions of her, and now, without them, the life Mariam had tolerated for so long suddenly seemed intolerable.
“We’re leaving this spring, Aziza and I. Come with us, Mariam”. Hosseini 272
Through their shared feelings, Mariam and Laila base their friendship on goodnesses. They become friends and are able to share their feeling. They have
same activities as wives. Freeman 84 says that child care, household task and crafts closely connected with the household, tend to be done by women; war,
hunting, and government, by men.
b. Good to One Another Unconditionally
One characteristic of the friendship which is based on goodnesses is that the persons are good to one another unconditionally Aristotle 220. Mariam and
34 Laila love one another without any qualification. It has been described that
Mariam and Laila are loving. Based on Maslows’ theory of motivation as cited by Kasschau 143-144, psychological needs are divided into three needs, namely
belongingness, esteem, and the self-actualization. Mariam and Laila are good to one another unconditionally to gain all of that needs. As human beings, they need
to love and be loved. They also need to be satisfied. Mariam is older than Laila, but Laila is smarter than Mariam. Laila does not care about Mariam’s age and
appearance. She does not care about the background of Mariam. So does Mariam. Mariam does not care about the way of Rasheed loves Laila and Laila’s
background. They build their friendship without any qualifications or requirements. Mariam and Laila help one another happily without asking
qualification. Mariam helps Laila to take care of Laila’s children. Mariam loves Aziza and Zalmai, Laila’s children. She loves them as her own children.
That was also the summer of Titanic, the summer that Mariam and Aziza were a tangle of limbs, rolling and gigling, Aziza insisting she get to be
Jack. “Quiet, Aziza Jo.”
“Jack Say my name, Khala Mariam. Say it. Jack” “Your father will be angry if you wake him.”
“Jack And you’re Rose.” It would end with Mariam on her back, surrendering, agreeing again to be
Rose. “Fine, you be Jack,” she relented. “You die young, and I get to live to a ripe old age.”
“Yes, but I die a hero,” said Aziza, “while you, Rose, you spend your entire, miserable life longing for me.” Then straddling Mariam’s chest, she’d
announce, “Now we must kiss” Mariam whipped her head side to side, and Aziza, delighted with her own scandalous behaviour, chackled through
puckered lips. Sometimes Zalmai would saunter in and watch this game. What did he get
to be, he asked. Hosseini 323-324
35 Mariam is good to Laila and also their children unconditionally. Mariam can
throw away her first feeling about Laila. Mariam and Laila become good friend. So does Laila. Laila regards Mariam as the older sister. Laila understands
Mariam. She helps Mariam. Laila never lets Mariam be sad. She always be a good friend for Mariam without qualification. When Laila has a plan to have a
better situation, she asks Mariam to be with her. She does not want to leave Mariam. Laila says “We’re leaving this spring, Aziza and I. Come with us,
Mariam.” Hosseini 272. It is described in the novel that Mariam and Laila come from different
ethnic groups and backgrounds. Laila ia a Tajik Hosseini 138. However, Mariam does not have any ethnic group exactly. Mariam’s father is a Pashtun but Mariam
is an illegal daughter from a servant so that Mariam is not considered as a Pashtun. Mariam is considered as a harami. Based on their ethnic groups, Mariam
and Laila are minority. However, their husband is a Pashtun. Khadija, Mariam’s step mother says ”His name is Rasheed, Khadija went on. He is a friend of a
business acquaintance of your father’s. He is a Pashtun, from Kandahar originally....”Hosseini 50. According to Saikal and Maley 14, The Pashtun
ethnic group is the largest single ethnic group in Afghanistan, followed by the Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Aimaq, Nuristani, Kirghiz, and a considerable number of
smaller groups. Thus, as a Pashtun, Rasheed feels strong. He thinks that he will seem stronger if he has more than one wife Hosseini 228.
Sometimes people really do aware about the background. It becomes the crucial thing to choose friends. However, that is not important thing for Mariam
36 and Laila. The most important thing is that they have a husband who is a Pashtun.
He is not a nice Pashtun. Mariam and Laila know that Pashtun is the majority. Laila has ever been told by her father that Pashtun is a king and other ethnic
groups are slighted Hosseini 138. That is why Rasheed feels stronger. He disparages Mariam and Laila. It is related to the reality of historical background
that the Pashtun is stronger than others. As the majority, the Pashtun has an authority to be the leader and the first one. Mariam and Laila belong to the small
ethnic groups.
c. Pleasant to One Another
