"thin, threadbare voice"

     Hosseini uses figurative language here as well to describe how Jalil feels about sending Mariam away to Kabul and marrying her off to Rasheed. Jalil loves Mariam enough that it is affecting him enough that he cannot talk properly. Jalil said in a "thin, threadbare voice" (49) that Mariam should not make this harder for him.Although Jalil has betrayed Mariam's trust in him, it is not because he does not love Mariam but because he wants to protect his reputation and family honor more. Jalil's actions reveal how Afghan society value reputation and how those values place burdens on Jalil because he is the man of the family. Men have to rise to society's expectations or be shunned as well.