Andrea Dworkin, stated that, "Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall off the edge', this is shown in both novels as the female characters are presented as controlled within society. Hosseini presents the female characters Laila and Mariam as oppressed within society in A Thousand Splendid Suns, this is shown through a dual narrative of. Mariam and Laila to show a difference in characterization. Hosseini does this to demonstrate the juxtaposition between the two characters, as Mariam is called "harami" within the novel which is the Farsi word for "bastard", while Laila comes from a well-respected and educated family and is characterized by her beauty as "she was an equal, a stunner." Hosseini illustrates the contrast between the two women to show that every woman will become a victim towards her husband and oppressed in Afghan society, similarly, within Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Hardy also illustrates Tess as a victim but at within Victorian society, as both Alec and Angel take advantage of her due to gender bias, in which Tess is considered a "fallen woman". Both novels show a male-dominated society in which women were oppressed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Hosseini demonstrates the harsh living situations in Afghanistan, where status and wealth were very important within society. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, the time setting takes place from the early 1960s to the early 2000s, illustrating the journey of how women were treated, as over the years the treatment of women became harsher due to the Taliban taking power. In England the feminist movement took place which led to a change in the way women were represented and treated within society, where modern readers would be shocked at how the characters Mariam and Laila were treated. Hosseini presents Afghan culture in the first chapter as Mariam respects her father more than her mother and speaks very highly of him as she "never felt like a harami around him", this could suggest that her father makes her feel normal, rather than an outcast. of society, however it could be argued that Mariam respected her father as it was part of the cultural norm to respect male figures as they were considered dominant. Hosseini reflects the power of male dominance in the first chapter as this is the main theme of the novel, which is shown as a simile "Like a compass needle pointing north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman", this demonstrates the superiority of men within Afghan culture, as women would always be at fault in situations even if they were victims of abuse. Afghan readers would be able to understand Mariam and Laila as victims of society as there are still some cases where women are still oppressed by their husbands within Afghan culture as it is considered a social norm. While Hardy presents Tess of d'Urberville in a Victorian society during the 1800s, before the start of the feminist movement, where women were not treated equally to men. In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Tess falls victim to Alec as he takes her virginity. But she becomes a victim of love as Angel rejects her love as she is no longer considered pure. Tess goes against everything she believes as she accepts her position in society and tells Angel that "you know best what my punishment should be",this shows that Tess has now become inferior and recognizes that she will never be the same. It could be argued that Tess is a representation of women within Victorian society, as men would base judgment on women based on their appearance. This is shown in the second chapter where Tess is illustrated as a "beautiful girl" who has "a mouth as moveable as a peony and large innocent eyes". Tess's description could represent what a Victorian woman should look like since the word “peony” it is a flower that symbolizes purity, so it could imply that women should be pure; and is also used to foreshadow Tess's loss of virginity. Hardy uses a limited third-person narrator so that readers can understand the hardships Tess endures. Although, it could be suggested that Hardy gives a biased approach within the narrative, but he illustrates Angel's opinions and feelings to demonstrate the double standards within society. Chez Zen claims that Tess of the d'Urbervilles is "one of the most influential and well-renovated books in world literature, Tess brought Hardy great fame and honor as well as incurring harsh reproaches from conventional society", this demonstrates the importance that society has on the oppression of women. Both Hardy and Hosseini show that their female characters are oppressed within marriage, as marriage was expected in both societies. This is shown in A Thousand Splendid Suns when Hosseini marries Mariam and Laila at a young age to portray that the girls would be married to older men as their purpose was to provide the men with children. In Afghanistan multiple marriages were common, however only men could have multiple marriages, as Mariam's father had "three wives and nine children", suggesting that women were treated unequally within society and illustrating discrimination in against women as they were unable to have multiple marriages. weddings. However, it could be argued that Mariam is presented as undesirable in society, as she is constantly referred to as "harami", but Hosseini also presents Mariam as sterile, whereby she becomes unworthy within marriage. Therefore, Rasheed decides to get married. Laila without considering Mariam's feelings as she says, "I...I don't want this," this conveys that women were not considered equal within society. The repetition of “I” could be interpreted to suggest hesitation, which could imply that Mariam is scared, which is a common emotion women feel towards their husbands. Laila at age fifteen marries Rasheed, which suggests that Rasheed, who is in her "sixties or older now", takes advantage of the situation as Laila has no family to protect her and has no choice but to accept cultural norms in Afghanistan. . Hosseini demonstrates the harshness of the Afghan marriage as Mariam and Laila suffer physical abuse from Rasheed while he "raised his belt again and this time got to Mariam", this suggests that the abuse was constant for both women and implies that violence against women was common in Afghanistan marriage, which they could not avoid, demonstrating their lack of control. Hosseini shows the treatment of women as oppressed within society, especially when the Taliban took over as women were limited and had little control. Similarly, Hardy illustrates Tess as a victim within her marriage due to a complicated relationship with Alec and Angel. It could be suggested that Hardy demonstrates Tess's relationship, using the journey within the novel, this is because Tess is constantly injourney, which symbolizes her journey between Alec and Angel, both of whom take advantage of Tess because of her sexuality. Alec physically hurts Tess by taking her virginity, this is implied in the description of "practically empty as snow", the word "practically" suggesting that Tess is no longer pure. Hardy references the birds, which are a motif within the novel, this is because the bird could be symbolic of Tess as, "the leap of a bird finally dead", and this reiterates that Tess is no longer innocent and pure , due to the loss of her virginity. The bird could be interpreted to symbolize Tess, as the bird is illustrated as no longer free, suggesting that it is oppressed. Angel causes psychological pain to Tess as their relationship is based on passion where he rejects her within marriage. Angel and Tess's marriage represents the double standard within Victorian society, as both Tess and Angel were not pure when they married. This is shown when both characters confess their past, where Angel refuses to forgive Tess as "forgiveness doesn't apply in this case", this shows the implications that gender has within Victorian society as the consequences apply only to women. This is because Tess is portrayed as a villain as she is no longer the pure woman that society expects her to be. It could be suggested that Tess is a representation of Victorian women becoming victims of the male-dominated world. Hardy provides another example of women suffering consequences from men, this is shown when Tess is blamed for Alec's actions, "Look how you dominated me!", implying that women were at fault if men took advantage of them , as The word “mastered” illustrates an element of power that women have, namely their physical appearance. However, it could be argued that Hosseini no longer presents Mariam and Laila as victims within Afghan society. This is shown when Mariam was “deciding the course of her own life”, this shows the power Mariam has in refusing to be controlled and mistreated by Rasheed. Hosseini illustrates that Mariam takes control when she takes the “shovel” and “gave is all she had”, this demonstrates a juxtaposition of power, as Mariam now has the upper hand, in order to prevent Rasheed from having control. Although it could be suggested that the use of the pathetic fallacy of “the darkness began to lift”, is used to present Rasheed's death representing “the darkness”, this could illustrate that Mariam and Laila will no longer be victims, however it could also foreshadow the punishment Mariam will receive. Although Hosseini presents Mariam as a strong and powerful woman in Afghan society based on her actions towards Rasheed, this power does not last long as she is punished for her actions. This is because in Afghan society if a woman kills a man she would receive a public death sentence regardless of the situation. Although, if a man hurt or killed his wife, then it would be acceptable as women were considered inferior, this is suggested as the law requires "one male witness but two female witnesses", implying that one is relying on the word of a man than that of a woman. Mariam accepts her position within society and accepts the death sentence as she “thought, she should die this way”, it could be interpreted that Mariam's death is the only way out of a controlled society. Similarly, Hardy introduces his character Tess, to take control of the situation and no longer be oppressed within the Victorian society. This is shown when Tess decides not to let Alec exploit her anymore. Meaning what