How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
[Jalil] was fond of sitting her on his lap and telling her stories, like the time he told her that Herat, the city where Mariam was born, in 1959, had once been the cradle of Persian culture, the home of writers, painters, and Sufis. (1.1.7)
Although we never get a firsthand look at Herat in its prime, we hear countless stories about the city. The hip, bohemian Herat is a great contrast to the repressive political environment that characterizes Afghanistan in the second half of the novel.
Quote #2
These women were—what was the word Rasheed had used?—"modern." Yes, modern Afghan women married to modern Afghan men who did not mind that their wives walked among strangers with makeup on their faces and nothing on their heads. (1.11.19)
The word "modern" comes up again and again. Cities like Kabul are havens for modern Afghans, who prefer democratic values over traditional morality. As we'll come to see, though, not everyone agrees with this modern lifestyle.
Quote #3
To me, it's nonsense—and very dangerous nonsense at that—all this talk of I'm a Tajik and you're a Pashtun and he's Hazara and she's Uzbek. We're all Afghans, and that's all that should matter. (2.18.46)
There are a ton of different ethnic groups in Afghanistan, and there's plenty of tension to go around. These ethnic divisions even cause the downfall the Mujahideen. Babi, on the other hand, favors a nationalistic view of Afghanistan, rather than a tribal one.