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Tariq
Mariam’s mother, once a maid in Jalil’s household until she became pregnant with his child. Banished to the kolba (a hut on a hill) after her father disowned her, Nana is bitter and unhappy. She constantly complains about Jalil to Mariam and admonishes her not to trust any man. Though she can be at times a stifling presence for Mariam, Nana adores her and won’t even let her attend school so as to keep her close. Nana’s suicide, after Mariam has gone in search of Jalil, will make Mariam feel guilty and ashamed for the rest of her life, and harbor regrets about the way she dismissed Nana’s warnings.
Nana Quotes in A Thousand Splendid Suns
The A Thousand Splendid Suns quotes below are all either spoken by Nana or refer to Nana. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part I: Chapter 1
Quotes
She understood then what Nana meant, that a harami was an unwanted thing: that she, Mariam, was an illegitimate person who would never have legitimate claim to the things other people had, things such as love, family, home, acceptance.
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Part I: Chapter 3
Quotes
“It’s our lot in life, Mariam. Women like us. We endure. It’s all we have. Do you understand?”
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Part III: Chapter 27
Quotes
The girl was looking back as if waiting for Mariam to pass on some morsel of wisdom, to say something encouraging. But what wisdom did Mariam have to offer? What encouragement? Mariam remembered the day they’d buried Nana and how little comfort she had found when Mullah Faizullah had quoted the Koran for her.
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Nana Quotes in A Thousand Splendid Suns
The A Thousand Splendid Suns quotes below are all either spoken by Nana or refer to Nana. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part I: Chapter 1
Quotes
She understood then what Nana meant, that a harami was an unwanted thing: that she, Mariam, was an illegitimate person who would never have legitimate claim to the things other people had, things such as love, family, home, acceptance.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part I: Chapter 3
Quotes
“It’s our lot in life, Mariam. Women like us. We endure. It’s all we have. Do you understand?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part III: Chapter 27
Quotes
The girl was looking back as if waiting for Mariam to pass on some morsel of wisdom, to say something encouraging. But what wisdom did Mariam have to offer? What encouragement? Mariam remembered the day they’d buried Nana and how little comfort she had found when Mullah Faizullah had quoted the Koran for her.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
