And the Mountains Echoed

by

Khaled Hosseini

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on And the Mountains Echoed makes teaching easy.
The second wife of Saboor, the sister of Masooma, and the mother of Iqbal, Parwana is the main character of the third chapter of And the Mountains Echoed. As a young woman, Parwana develops a rivalry with her sister, Masooma, whom Parwana considers to be prettier and more likeable than she. After Parwana learns that Masooma is preparing to marry Saboor—a man Parwana has liked for many years—Parwana spitefully causes her sister to fall out of a tree, injuring her and causing her to spend the rest of her life an invalid. Parwana spends many years caring for her sister, guilty but unwilling to admit what she’s done. In the end, Saboor begins to court Parwana, and—partly with Masooma’s encouragement—Parwana marries Saboor, leaving her sister to fend for herself.

Parwana Quotes in And the Mountains Echoed

The And the Mountains Echoed quotes below are all either spoken by Parwana or refer to Parwana. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Interconnectedness Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

He wished he could love his new mother in the same way. And perhaps Parwana, he thought, secretly wished the same, that she could love him. The way she did Iqbal, her one-year-old son, whose face she always kissed, whose every cough and sneeze she fretted over. Or the way she had loved her first baby, Omar. She had adored him.

Related Characters: Abdullah, Parwana, Iqbal, Omar
Page Number: 22
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

All her life, Parwana had made sure to avoid standing in front of a mirror with her sister. It robbed her of hope to see her face beside Masooma’s, to see so plainly what she had been denied. But in public, every stranger’s eye was a mirror. There was no escape.

Related Characters: Parwana, Masooma
Page Number: 67
Explanation and Analysis:
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Parwana Quotes in And the Mountains Echoed

The And the Mountains Echoed quotes below are all either spoken by Parwana or refer to Parwana. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Interconnectedness Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

He wished he could love his new mother in the same way. And perhaps Parwana, he thought, secretly wished the same, that she could love him. The way she did Iqbal, her one-year-old son, whose face she always kissed, whose every cough and sneeze she fretted over. Or the way she had loved her first baby, Omar. She had adored him.

Related Characters: Abdullah, Parwana, Iqbal, Omar
Page Number: 22
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

All her life, Parwana had made sure to avoid standing in front of a mirror with her sister. It robbed her of hope to see her face beside Masooma’s, to see so plainly what she had been denied. But in public, every stranger’s eye was a mirror. There was no escape.

Related Characters: Parwana, Masooma
Page Number: 67
Explanation and Analysis: