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ATSS/Tess - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Mariam’s act of sacrifice for Laila mirroring the death of Nana
      - Laila attempting to be the best mother she can despite her own mother not loving her
    - - Tess attempting to start anew away from her family
      - Angel breaking away from his family to break out of religious orthodoxy
  - - - Mariam essentially adopting Laila as her daughter and look after her children too
      - Faizullah being a father figure to Mariam allowing her to keep trust in her faith
      - Jalil not treating Mariam like family despite being her father
    - - Tess doing everything she can for her baby
      - Tess finding solace in her relationship with the other milkmaids
  - - - Mariam having no support systems the entire time she is alone with Rasheed
      - Jalil able to have multiple children with little worry for their well-being while Mariam and Nana are permanently affected and shunned by his actions
    - - Angel’s ability to break away from his family
      - Tess’ attachment to her mother mirrored by her being tied to her baby
      - Alec exploiting the d’Urberville heritage for power and money
- - - - Rasheed using double standards as he refuses to allow women to have sexual liberation in defiance of religious customs unless it is for his benefit
      - Taliban using the Koran as justification for their abuse and oppression of women’s rights
    - - Alec uses his religion to justify his harassment of Tess
      - Angel uses Christian morality (even if unknowingly) in his decision to leave Tess
  - - - Mariam’s conflict about her faith as it strengthens with the presence of Faizullah, Laila and the children
      - Religious freedom seen as a part of the cultural heritage of Afghanistan and Laila’s personal identity which is stripped away deliberately by the Taliban
    - - Tess loses her Christianity and becomes more and more a symbol of paganism
      - Tess is most comfortable in a place of nature and paganism — but a return to the modern christian world is painful and dangerous to her
  - - - Taliban’s exploitation of ancient and unfounded views
    - - Christianity is portrayed as inherently masculine while paganism is more feminine — ergo it is the church that exploits and harms Tess
      - The ominous red signs that Tess sees represent her own sense that she is wrong, which haunts and ruins her for the rest of the novel
- - - - Rasheed asserts control and power over both Mariam and Laila by raping them
      - Rasheed’s exploitation of Mariam so she can give him a son is ignored and even encouraged by Afghan society
    - - Alec’s rape of Tess determines the rest of her life — she is trapped by society’s hypocritical morality into forever being condemned by what he did
  - - - Mariam considers her abuse a punishment for her miscarriages, and that it is her responsibility to form a loving relationship with Rasheed
  - - - Mariam and Laila both used to give Rasheed a son and considered failures if they don’t
      - Mariam being treated like property as she is essentially traded in return for money and Jalil’s reputation
      - Mariam being used as an example by the Taliban to those who go against their husbands
    - - Tess used by Alec as a sexual object
      - Tess being exploited at Flintcomb-Ash
- - - - Rasheed’s minute courtship with Laila is to gain her trust falsely
      - ‘Courtship’ is rushed in Afghanistan’s culture in order to leave women with as little agency as possible
    - - Angel uses his relationship with Tess to justify his paganistic views, and doesn’t see her as fully human
      - Alec’s ‘courting’ of Tess is purely manipulative so he can lust after her
  - - - Nana and Jalil had some sort of relationship, but it was frowned upon to the point of Nana’s exile
      - Tarik and Laila are the only characters with a fully-developed romantic relationship but it is essentially illegal
      - Rasheed and Mariam’s marriage is seen as normal and mundane, and Mariam is actively discouraged from going against Rasheed
    - - Alec and Tess’ relationship is not commented on by society and Alec actually úses it to gain sympathy from his congregation
      - Angel and Tess’ marriage is more an elopement than anything else, and Angel’s parents aren’t fully for it
  - - - Mariam lacks agency as her relationship with Rasheed was arranged for her and they never developed a trusting and equal bond
      - Laila is presented as less conformist and more radical than Mariam as she continues a relationship with Tarik
- - - - Introduction and development of Rasheed, and how Mariam is punished for saving Laila from him
      - Those in power dismissing Mariam’s fears (the police, the wives)
      - Mariam’s internalised acceptance of Rasheed’s abuse over time
    - - Tess’ parents essentially marrying her off to Alec
      - Alec and Angel turning from potential love interests into reminders of Tess’ past that she needs to keep herself away from
  - - - the women constantly being referred to as ‘his wife’
      - Laila losing her most striking part of her identity (her education and outspokenness) when she is forced to marry Rasheed
      - Aziza growing up thinking that her father is Rasheed because Laila risks both their lives if she reveals the truth
    - - Angel’s parents’ prejudices about Tess’ suitability
      - Tess’ ‘pure maiden’ identity and its tension with her percieved identity as a ‘fallen woman’
      - Angel, in attempting to break away from social conventions, actively dehumanises Tess into a wild fae-like creature of the earth
  - - - Mariam measures her worth by her ability to care for others as a mother — allows herself to be abused as she thinks she is at fault for her lack of children, and only values herself again when she becomes Laila’s maternal figure
      - Rasheed judging his wives by whether they can provide a son
      - Laila and Mariam finding comfort in parenting as they finally have unconditional love
    - - Tess, to the world, loses her childhood innocence when she becomes pregnant
      - Tess’ rape and pregnancy makes Angel think less of her as a woman
- - - - All the educational figures are male — it is how they choose to use their power over those who aren’t educated
      - the Taliban stifles education for women as it removes a facet of their agency
    - - Angel’s family never having to experience the pain Tess’ family go through due to their religious and academic superiority allowing for economic security
      - Tess’ lack of knowledge or experience on how to care for a child helps lead to its death
  - - - Laila’s education and self-worth that stems from it allows her to push back against Rasheed
      - Laila and Mariam have positive male figures who educate them — gives them some form of agency or hope despite their trauma
    - - Tess is more ‘well-spoken’ than her traditional mother — she is willing to adapt to newer cultural norms
      - Tess finds comfort in Angel’s lack of social conservativeness due to his learned and intelligent nature
  - - - the Taliban stifling education for women as it allows men to retain control of what information women have and their ability to spread it
      - Mariam feeling threatened by Laila who is a more modern, younger, and educated woman
    - - Angel (educated, understands and can escape social norms) and Tess (has barely any experience of anything outside the Vale, is hemmed in by social norms she barely understands)
- - - - subverted with Tess’ mother
      - Tess doing what she can for her baby
    - - Subverted with Nana
      - Shown through Mariam’s love of Laila
- - - - Tess being at her happiest with the milkmaids — they mirror her security in her identity and womanhood
      - Nature as femininity — Tess feels a companionship and link to mother nature
    - - Laila and Mariam healing from their trauma together
      - Mariam feeling valued and cared for by Laila
      - Afghanistan and the feminine — Afghanistan’s rich culture is linked with womanhood (the title) and the character’s growth reflects its state
  - - - the wives of Jalil exploiting Mariam for their own benefit
      - Mariam and Laila’s relationship after Mariam is initially threatened and hurt by her presence
    - - Tess and the milkmaids subverting expectations as the milkmaids do not attempt to break Tess and Angel apart
- - - - Mariam’s emotional isolation is seen by her as a punishment for abandoning Nana
      - Laila is neglected by her mother as payback for not being her eldest son
    - - Tess’ last few phases are spent with her emotionally isolated as Angel intends to punish her for what he considers a sin
      - Tess isolates herself from her community in an act of self-flaggelation
  - - - Rasheed keeping Mariam trapped in her house
      - Nana being shunned from society
      - Laila being unable to garner sympathy or trust from police force
    - - Tess is shunned by Angel (and by extension societal convention)
      - Tess’ only real support system is at Talbothay’s which is so different from regular English society that it’s almost alien
      - Tess is left alone with Alec in order to provide for her family
- - - - Mariam and Laila attempting to escape and then Laila managing to escape Rasheed
      - Nana’s discouragement of Mariam, accepting that men will always be dominant and patriarchal, vs Laila’s refusal to give into Rasheed’s abuse
    - - Tess’ journey and the environment around her shifting as she tries to regain agency and control over her life
  - - - Rasheed as a representation of cultural attitudes
      - Taliban showing how the oppression of women is systemic as well as individual
    - - fallen woman cultural norm
      - ancient heirarchy and marriage contracts
      - Alec manipulating religious zeal, cultural norms and his male privilege to corner Tess into a position where she must becomes his mistress