The Ultimate Sacrifice: Trading Everything for Love To sacrifice is to give up something precious in order to gain or maintain something worthy, such as a cherished relationship. Often we sacrifice what we love the most for the sake of family, friends or anything that is dear to us. We sometimes do this to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, or to contribute to a greater cause. Every day, men and women sacrifice their jobs and career aspirations for their families. Giving up their own individual passions and eradicating their future plans illustrates the true nature of sacrifice and a powerful force commonly known as love. Philosophy expert, Aaron Ben-Zeév states in his article from “Psychology Today,” “relationships require few sacrifices and more compromises” (Ben-Zeév). However, through examining Khaled Hosseini’s famous novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, I determined that love always requires sacrifice.
Amongst the growing conflicts of the Middle East, the fates of two Afghani women are interwoven as they are both forced into a marriage (with the same man) that does not represent genuine love. Instead, they are enslaved to a relationship dominated by physical violence and backlash from their cruel and abusive husband, Rasheed. They are in a constant struggle with suffering and hardships with the only thing left to live for being hope alone. In Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, the tragic theme of love and sacrifice is unveiled as the lives of Laila and Mariam are set to stage from childhood to death. Through the many hurdles that these women are forced to elude, the hopes that they cling to are continually decimated. Acceptance, true love, and having a better life are some of the various virtues that these women of Afghanistan hope for while living in and enduring an environment filled with war and constant danger. Aaron Ben-Zeév contends that the consequences [of sacrifice] can be positive or negative but once completed, they are over and tend not to carry a significant emotional load” (Ben-Zeév). Through following the paths of Laila and Mariam in the story, this notion is proved to be untruthful. Laila and her true love Tariq, through their willingness to abandon each other on the behalf of their families, exemplify how sacrifices must be made for the sake of love. After making love with her for the first time and finally confessing his love to Laila, Tariq (Laila’s real love interest) is forced to make one of the most difficult choices of his life. As his choice is nearly revealed to Laila, the city of Kabul is under relentless duress during a time of war and destruction. The entire experience becomes surreal when a rocket kills one of Laila’s best friends, Giti, while she is walking through town. When the immense danger proves to be too much for Tariq and his family, he approaches Laila with heartbreaking news that he and his family are fleeing Kabul. Tariq notes, “his [father’s] heart can’t take all this fighting and killing anymore” (Hosseini 181). Although he wishes for Laila to come with him and his family, and to take her hand in marriage, Tariq realizes that he must fulfill his duty as a son to safeguard his family and his father’s failing health. By Tariq making this conscious decision to leave his true love, and protect his family as they flee the war-torn city, Hosseini signifies the importance of family in Afghani culture. The author also suggests that one’s love for their family can outweigh any romantic love and lead to the forfeit of their love interest if the circumstances demand it.
When Laila finds out about the news of Tariq’s decision to flee the war-ravaged city of Kabul, she is torn between the prospects of marrying Tariq and joining his family to Pakistan, or staying back home to support her family. In bringing up the comment made by her mother “Sometimes…I feel like you’re all I have, Laila,” the author exhausts a great deal of guilt onto Laila and pushes her to realize that her family needs her to function (Hosseini 184). Laila also notes that her father, Babi, “would [give them his blessing], but it would shatter him” (Hosseini 184). She recognizes that her father loves her so much that he would do anything to make her happy. However, on the inside Laila knows that his heart could not take it. By emphasizing this sense of loyalty Laila has for her father, the author makes it clear that familial love overshadows the romantic love that Laila feels for Tariq, again reinforcing the significance of family to Afghani culture. Through these sacrifices, Tariq and Laila unveil themselves to be more than simply two adolescents in puppy love, but thoughtful and responsible young individuals with strong moral values and priorities. During a time of political and cultural pandamonium, the power of love and sacrifice holds these Afghani families together.
Laila’s decision to send her daughter Aziza to an orphanage (even though it kills her to do so) reinforces the idea that love always comes with sacrifice. When money is tight for Laila and her miserable husband, Rasheed, they have no other choice but to place Aziza in an orphanage because Rasheed can no longer afford to provide for her. Laila cannot bear to tell her daughter the truth, so she explains to her that “she was going to a school, a special school where the children ate and slept and didn’t come home after class”(Hosseini 314). By fabricating the truth, it allows Laila to combat her internal struggle of sending her daughter away. Laila's emphasis on Aziza's well being is presented when she stresses to her daughter that there will be food at the "school" she's going to. Making this choice displays the emotional pain and agony Laila has to endure in order to assure the survival of Aziza, who she loves most. Laila also reassures her daughter by asserting, “I’m your mother. If it kills me, I’ll come and see you” (Hosseini 315). This declaration helps support the idea that Laila will do anything for her daughter. She is willing to suffer and will sacrifice anything of hers if it is in the best interest of Aziza. When Rasheed no longer accompanies her and Mariam to visit Aziza, Laila chooses to go see her anyway, even though she undergoes physical attacks from the Taliban soldiers each time she visits alone. Laila will suffer through nothing short of death to make sure she is there for her daughter; again intensifying the idea that with love comes sacrifice.
To further fortify the idea that love always comes at the expense of sacrifice, the character Mariam, another product of an abusive relationship and the motherly figure to Laila and her children, makes a climactic sacrifice at the end of the novel. She forgoes the rest of her life by turning herself in for Rasheed’s murder and dying for the sake of Laila and her children. In her final moments, Mariam is able to grasp a sense of closure and locate the meaning to her life. Mariam finally discovers the purpose of her life when she acknowledges that “she was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother. A person of consequence at last” (Hosseini 370). These are Mariam’s closing thoughts in her she sacrifices her life and faces her heroic demise. Mariam arises as the true hero of the story in this final act of martyrdom, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for her loved ones. Although she is executed by the Taliban, Mariam leaves the world on her own terms, proud of the person she has become.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini serves to illustrate how love is only present when sacrifices are made. He completes this mission by highlighting certain characters and their relationships. The characters Mariam and Laila are the central players that Hosseini focuses on when ascertaining how sacrifices must be made for the sake of loved ones. Khaled Hosseini’s tale of two Afghani women not only depicts the story of their lives, but also seeks to advocate the idea that giving valuable things up are a necessary part of life that must be done when love is on the line.

Works Cited
Ben-Zeév, Aaron. "Does Love Involve Sacrifice or Compromise?" Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web.
Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. New York: Riverhead, 2007. Print