And the Mountains Echoed

The key to Pari’s character is a strong sense of absence in her life, that which she does not realize, until she is much older, is connected to her brother. Her mother, Nila, is not really her mother, and there is a is a palpable misunderstanding and disconnectedness that the two experience over the years. There are a lot of pieces missing in her life, and this is that is partially reflected in her interest and love of mathematics for to her, “There was comfort to be found in the permanence of mathematical truths, in the lack of arbitrariness and the absence of ambiguity. In knowing that the answers may be elusive, but they could be found” (204). Much of her life experience that is revealed in the grand narrative is her searching for permanence in her own life, a grounding and a full understanding of herself and her life story.

Although her presence in the novel is not as large as other characters, she is a central figure, as she represents the missing “piece” that helps bridge the disjointed family come back together. She is also one of the characters that sacrifices many of her own personal desires (art school) to take care of her ailing parents: first her mother, then her father. Thus, she is also the missing piece that solves Hosseini’s problem of the link between duty and obligation and family. Other characters over the generations have been placed in the caregiver role, and either they are not suited for it (despite being blood) or are not blood related. Pari is the only character in this story that is a blood relative that takes on family duty, and in a way, is “rewarded” and/or is the solution to bringing the family connectioned back.

Despite not being a “blood relative” to this large family tree, Nila is still the best “mother” role for Pari. Pari’s real mother died in childbirth, and her stepmother (Parwana) did not seem to have the same love and affection for her as a real mother would. However, Nila’s “forced” role of motherhood (Pari is purchased, not “born” of her) never quite adequately fills the absence in Pari’s life. As well, Nila’s purchase of a child never fills the void in her life, either.  In an interview later in her life, Nila tells of her sickness in India, how she “had left something vital of [herself] behind” there (214). Perhaps, after marrying Suleiman, she searched to fill this void by acquiring a child, even though she physically could not have children. She also tells the interviewer that she believes her daughter is her “punishment.”. This may be Hosseini’s way of suggesting that people cannot be forced to fit in to the story/puzzle of a person’s life. Nila had struggled for something to fulfill her for years, and it was never foundshe never found it. She is truly lost, and it is not surprising that she commits suicide.