Connections

The overall connection that I chose to analyze in this report was the importance of marriage, as it is an idea that is present in almost everybody’s life, and it is something that heavily impacts the nature of a society. Marriage is seen in society in both positive and negative ways, involving emotions from true love to bitterness. In the texts A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, The Ballad of Calvary Street by James K Baxter, The Silk by Joy Cowley and Atonement directed by Joe Wright, this idea of the importance of marriage is clearly present in all of them, yet they are all shown so differently (negatively and positively) as to give examples of the ways that it is interpreted in different societies, and allow me to deduce the importance that this idea holds on a global scale.

Romantic love is recognized in most societies by the practice of marriage. This is a prominent symbol in all the texts I have covered except for Atonement, where the absence of marriage is used to show the couple’s true love. In this film, we see that Cecelia and Robbie are in love, however a misunderstanding on the part of Cecelia’s sister, Briony, means that Cecelia and Robbie are prevented from marriage or even being together. This is shown as a particularly tragic incident, which shows the importance that society places on the process of marriage. This is also a very prominent idea in the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, which is set in Afghanistan. We see two women, Laila and Mariam, who are owned and controlled by their shared husband, and their lives literally rely on him, because as women, they are unable to attain independence due to their country’s beliefs. In Afghan society, marriage is a sacred business, and any sexual relations outside of marriage are greatly looked down upon, and the punishment for a female offender can be as severe as torture or death by the girl’s family or husband. This also shows the idea of the importance of marriage that is shown in