Compare the ways in which Hardy and Hosseini use endings in their novels
In both ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ and ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’, the two authors use a
variety of techniques to make the endings of their novels more significant than just an
ending. For example, both Hardy and Hosseini use a change in perspective near the end of
their novels to present a possible hopeful shift in tone. Additionally, both authors use a
change of setting to present the changing tones of the endings. For example, Hardy shows
Tess at Stonehenge, on an altar, which could symbolize her sacrifice, and signifies the
continued tragedy of his tragic novel.
Firstly, Hardy and Hosseini both use a change in perspective, revealing a possible hopeful
shift in the tone of their respective novels. For example, it is clear in Hosseini’s 21 st century
novel that, from Laila’s perspective a hopeful tone, as she is alive, with her two children and
finally with the man she loves – Tariq – rather than the abusive Rasheed.
After the brutality in Mariam’s section of the novel, where the reader witnesses her
execution, the last three chapters from Laila’s perspective create a calmer and more settled
tone. It is a while after the execution, and Rasheed’s death, and this has allowed Laila and
her family time to settle, after having moved to Pakistan, and then back to Afghanistan.
It could be argued that the ending is an ode to Laila and Mariam’s relationship, and a symbol
that Mariam’s love is ongoing, and lives on in Laila and the children. Her sacrifice has
allowed them to escape Rasheed and move on with their lives. The two women found each
other at just the right time. Laila, having recently lost her parents, and in need of a mother.
Mariam, on the other hand, was traumatized by her miscarriages and Rasheed's abuse. Laila
needed to be loved, and Mariam needed someone to love. They both find what they're
looking for, and this fact makes the reader see that while Mariam’s death is sad, her
motherly sacrifice and the love the two women shared make the ending happier.
However, in ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ , Hardy’s change in narrative focus from Alec to Angel
creates a shift in tone. The reader doesn’t witness the execution, and the characters wait
and watch the building until a black flag is raised on a pole outside the prison tower, at
which point the narrator pulls back, and says, “’Justice’ was done, and the President of the
Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess".
The first words, “‘Justice’ was done,” show in the eyes of Victorian society. They had a rigid
legal system, where crimes should be punished, and Tess is seen to have committed a crime.
In reality, her crimes are not hers, as it is the unfairness of the patriarchy and the actions of
the men that have led to Tess’s execution for murder, and the black flag at the prison
indicates to anyone looking up at it that an execution has just taken place. Hardy puts
"justice" in quotation marks because neither he nor, he hopes, the reader, believes Tess's
fate to be "just" in any real sense.
The second half of the sentence, however, about "the President of the Immortals" could
signify something else. Hardy claimed that "The President of the Immortals" was his own
translation of a phrase from the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus's tragedy, Prometheus.
In both ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ and ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’, the two authors use a
variety of techniques to make the endings of their novels more significant than just an
ending. For example, both Hardy and Hosseini use a change in perspective near the end of
their novels to present a possible hopeful shift in tone. Additionally, both authors use a
change of setting to present the changing tones of the endings. For example, Hardy shows
Tess at Stonehenge, on an altar, which could symbolize her sacrifice, and signifies the
continued tragedy of his tragic novel.
Firstly, Hardy and Hosseini both use a change in perspective, revealing a possible hopeful
shift in the tone of their respective novels. For example, it is clear in Hosseini’s 21 st century
novel that, from Laila’s perspective a hopeful tone, as she is alive, with her two children and
finally with the man she loves – Tariq – rather than the abusive Rasheed.
After the brutality in Mariam’s section of the novel, where the reader witnesses her
execution, the last three chapters from Laila’s perspective create a calmer and more settled
tone. It is a while after the execution, and Rasheed’s death, and this has allowed Laila and
her family time to settle, after having moved to Pakistan, and then back to Afghanistan.
It could be argued that the ending is an ode to Laila and Mariam’s relationship, and a symbol
that Mariam’s love is ongoing, and lives on in Laila and the children. Her sacrifice has
allowed them to escape Rasheed and move on with their lives. The two women found each
other at just the right time. Laila, having recently lost her parents, and in need of a mother.
Mariam, on the other hand, was traumatized by her miscarriages and Rasheed's abuse. Laila
needed to be loved, and Mariam needed someone to love. They both find what they're
looking for, and this fact makes the reader see that while Mariam’s death is sad, her
motherly sacrifice and the love the two women shared make the ending happier.
However, in ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ , Hardy’s change in narrative focus from Alec to Angel
creates a shift in tone. The reader doesn’t witness the execution, and the characters wait
and watch the building until a black flag is raised on a pole outside the prison tower, at
which point the narrator pulls back, and says, “’Justice’ was done, and the President of the
Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess".
The first words, “‘Justice’ was done,” show in the eyes of Victorian society. They had a rigid
legal system, where crimes should be punished, and Tess is seen to have committed a crime.
In reality, her crimes are not hers, as it is the unfairness of the patriarchy and the actions of
the men that have led to Tess’s execution for murder, and the black flag at the prison
indicates to anyone looking up at it that an execution has just taken place. Hardy puts
"justice" in quotation marks because neither he nor, he hopes, the reader, believes Tess's
fate to be "just" in any real sense.
The second half of the sentence, however, about "the President of the Immortals" could
signify something else. Hardy claimed that "The President of the Immortals" was his own
translation of a phrase from the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus's tragedy, Prometheus.
