The Patience Stone Sparknotes

In Afghanistan, women are still routinely arrested and jailed for “running away” or for adultery, the current law does not recognize the crime rape, and the rate of forced marriages are sky rocketing. Any woman that dares to speak out or attempts to affect change incurs at best abuse and threats, at worse death. In this culture, if a woman is outspoken and involved in a political and social life then she is bound to be a victim of attack. The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi explores the ways through which personal and political oppression can be resisted through acts of self-revelation. I learned the violence that we are capable of imposing upon ourselves and others both in our personal as well as political and social relations. With a veiled face and stolen words, a woman keeps silent about her forbidden pain in an Afghanistan marred by men’s foolishness. However, when she discovers her voice, she overcomes the chaos.
The novel opens with the man who has been exhausted for over two weeks, and shows no signs of recovery. Uncertain whether he can hear her words, frustration and despair on the women’s part gradually turns to angry rebellion. The woman becomes even more uninhibited as she reconciles over their ten-year marriage. I learned that the couple didn’t meet before their wedding, nor even during it, since he was always fighting. A ceremony was performed between the young bride and a photograph. The woman spent three years as a married virgin, barred from seeing friends and family. On her husband’s return, she discovers she is married to a violent, arrogant war hero with whom she must endure a detached