45 pages • 1 hour read
Khaled HosseiniAnd the Mountains Echoed
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary: Spring 1949
The narration shifts back three years before Parwana’s marriage to is married to Saboor. She is taking care of (and cleaning up)cleaning up her twin sister Masooma after she has had soiled herself. Masooma is paralyzed. She can speak and feels shame at her mess, but she cannot help it. Masooma seems to know that she is holding her sister's life back, and she claimsming that she “deserves better than [her]” (53). The narrator describes the amount of work Parwana must do in taking care of the both of them.
The narrator moves into a flashback to illustrate the context of the sisters' relationship. Masooma was the perfect child, and was the only expected one. Parwana arrived unexpectedly and was a difficult baby. Masooma was loved by all, and as she grew, she became a beautiful young woman. Even young boys were enchanted by her. Both Parwana and Masooma knew this, although it was an unspoken truth.
In the past, Parwana secretly admired Saboor, even as a youngster. At a young age, he would tell the village tales, and he admitted that he would like to write down his stories one day. Parwana stole a leather journal to give to him when she felt the courage. However, Masooma gaveives the journal to Saboor claiming and claimed she had just found it around the house. It crushed Parwana,a even though she never let on.
The narration moves back into the present, and Nabi, the sisters' older brother, stops by for his monthly visit. He provides money from his city job in Kabul, and he talks with Parwana about Saboor and the death of his wife with the birth of Pari. “[Nabi] didn't ask, but he told [him] he's looking to marry again” (62). Nabi knows that Parwana admires Saboor.
The story moves into a flashback again to when the sisters were thirteen13. Parwana muses on Masooma’s beauty, and she feels that she is a “pathetic shadow, torn between her envy and the thrill of being seen with Masooma” (64).
Back in the present narration, Masooma and Parwana are smoking from the hookah. Masooma asks Parwana if she would take her to the city (Kabul). Parwana hopes that she is joking, but Masooma says she has a blessing and a mule for them to make their three-day journey. She tells Parwana that she is “so bored [she's] dying” (66).
Another flashback relates the episode of Masooma's accident. The sisters awere sitting atop the high branches of the great oak tree, and Masooma iwas just about to tell Parwana why she knows she will be marrying Saboor. As she reaches in her pocket for proof, Parwana shifts her weight on the branch. It seems as though there was a gentle shove by Parwana on Masooma's back but also a serious attempt at catching her before she falls. However, despite her efforts, Masooma falls out of the tree and snaps her lower back on a low branch.
The narration moves back to the present one last time, where Masooma and Parwana are around a campfire in the desert, on their journey to Kabul. Masooma is convincing Parwana to abandon her, and that it is what she really wants. Parwana fights with her conscience, not wanting to leave her sister, yet knowing that Masooma's “existence is a punishment to [them] both” (68). She prepares an extra-potent hookah for Masooma and then walks away into the darkness with the camel. She almost goes back a few times, especially when she believes she hears her sister wailing, but she continues on, knowing that if she does not leave now, she will never leave.
Chapter 3 Analysis
In this chapter, we have another story of family abandonment and the moral ambiguity. a situation like this is tainted with. It is a separation of siblings and it is meant to bring a “better” outcome for both of them in the long run, which is very similar to the abandonment of Pari three years later. Hosseini establishes a clear context of the difficult relationship between Parwana and Masooma and manages to provide a little bit of sympathy, or at least reason, as to why she agrees to abandon Masooma. There was a sibling resentment present, as Parwana saw how admired Masooma was for her beauty, andas she lived in the shadow of her sister. Masooma’s “accident” could be interpreted as a push by Parwana and yet, Parwana lives with thehat consequences by being Masooma’s caregiver. She sacrificed her sister, which then made her sacrifice herself in service, which then led to Masooma willingly sacrificing herself again so Parwana could have a better life. Although each of these sacrifices is incredibly difficult, there is an underlying understanding of how all of them are possible. Perhaps Hosseini wants the reader to understand Pari’s abandonment in the same way. Even though it is incredibly painful to witness the separation of the closeness of Abdullah and Pari, the unthinkable becomes somewhat reasonable when provided with the grander context.
While there are similarities in Pari’s sacrifice and Masooma’s sacrifice, the differences are clear; Masooma’s sacrifice will likely end in her death. Masooma cannot move and has no means for helping herself. When Parwana abandons her in the desert, she is leaving her alone in harsh elements where she will either be rescued, succumb to the elements or animals, or die of starvation. There is no happy life with the div for Masooma, as in the fable. Instead, she faces a long, slow death for the sake of her sister.
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By Khaled Hosseini
