What does an ideal mother do? In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, the ideal of the mother is described. In the story, two mothers, Nana and Mariam, are presented as the model of a perfect mother. Through Nana and Mariam, Hosseini shows that an ideal mother must be willing to sacrifice, must do her best to ensure the survival of her children, and be able to use tough love. Throughout the book, the two mothers constantly sacrifice themselves to improve the lives of their children. The characters of Nana and Mariam show the archetype of a mother by sacrificing themselves to improve the lives of their children. Towards the beginning of the book, Nana describes Mariam's birth and mentions: “I myself cut the heartstring between us. That's why I had a knife. »(11). As Nana mentioned, she sacrificed throughout her pregnancy despite the pain and separated the umbilical cord herself because she wanted her child to have the best possible chance. She also mentions the knife, which could have been used to kill the baby, much like what Laila almost did with the rusty bicycle spoke. Additionally, the knife could have been used to commit suicide to end his suffering. However, Nana does not carry out this plan and decides to give up her feelings for the child. Mariam also goes through moments where sacrifice is necessary. For example, when drought hits and Rahseed loses her shoe store, she realizes that for her family to survive, she must ask Jalil, her father, for money. To contact her father, she travels under the hot sun, calls the mayor and says, “I know you have important things to do, but it’s a matter of life and death” (310). Mariam swallows her pride and begins to realize her negative reaction towards her father with...... middle of paper ......e idea of ​​living in peace she did what Nana did to her. She took her childish dream version of the situation and turned it into reality. Even though it wasn't the kindest way to tell her she was wrong, it was the best. As she loved)((use more in P))) her family, she decided to be more direct and use tough love to save everyone. The two mothers, despite their differences, both help their families to be as successful as possible. Nevertheless, the mothers managed to show that an ideal mother sacrifices herself for her children, does her best to ensure their children's survival, and uses tough love. However, both mothers succeeded not only because they showed the ideals of a good mother, but also because they transmitted the values ​​of a good mother. Nana passed it on to Mariam and Mariam passed it on to Laila, who will pass it on to her next daughters named Mariam.