"a dry, barren field, out beyond wish and lament, beyond dream and disillusionment"

Khaled Hosseini establishes as the beginning of the novel the the extreme limits and restrictions of a harami like Mariam. Mariam was deprived of parental love and as a illegitimate child she was unable to gain certain things even thought they were not tangible like other children her age. Her mother at the beginning of the novel tells Mariam how she will not be able to get happiness and love. Mariam compares her life as a "barren field" with the empty space resembling the lack of wishes and dreams. All feelings of longing become an unreachable goal. She explains how wishes are "beyond dreams" thus saying she has become to accept the boundaries the society has drawn for her. This shows how people become outcasts; by being deprived of many kindness in life and this shadow will trail them throughout life causing a negative attitude. This image serves to show the conditions of Mariam's social caste rank in her society compared to others where she is deprived of various rights thus emphasizing the different social hierarchy and in general oppressed women in the Afghan society.