Chapter 3

Mohsen and his wife Zunaira are revealed in this chapter. What I think was the most important event was when Mohsen told Zunaira how he helped to stone the prostitute in the beginning of the novel. He describes how something just took over him and he couldn't help himself. This is a good example of peer pressure. It's not that Mohsen wanted to kill that woman or throw stones at her, he just got caught up in the moment with everyone else and all the excitement. I think it took a lot for him to tell his wife about it too. My understanding of their marriages is that the wife is lower than the husband and that she is more there for show in a sense. Basically I think she is there to clean, cook, and make babies. For Mohsen to tell his wife of the attrocity that he commited took more than the typical marriage. I think that he too has some feelings deeper than the standard "clean the house and make my dinner" relationship, like Atiq does for his wife. Zunaira didn't take the news well though. She was upset by his decision to take part in the crime against the woman. I was impressed though by her courageousness to defend women to her husband, who should be superior to her in their culture.