Amir & Soraya

In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir and his wife Soraya are very similar.  They share many circumstances which double as themes of the novel.  The first of these similarities is that they both love to read.  While this is more superficial, it does explain one of the reasons they make a great couple.  On a deeper level, they share regret for past mistakes.  Soraya ran off with a man in Virginia and Amir let Hassan get raped.  In this instance, the difference is that Amir doesn't ever tell anyone his secret. This explains why he is never truly happy while Soraya can move on with her life.  "But I think a big part of the reason I didn't care about Soray's oast was that I had one of my own.  I knew all about regret (p180)."  Additionally, the two are both very proud of their career aspirations.  Soraya and Amir both faced criticism from their parents but continued their studies.  Most recently in the novel, they are joined by their mourning for not being able to have a child.  I think these three similarities, regret, pride, and sorrow, are all themes of the novel stressed by Amir and Soraya's relationship.