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The Yellow Feather
In the fairy tale Saboor tells his children, an evil demon—a div—orders a farmer, Baba Ayub, to sacrifice one of his children. Baba Ayub is then forced to make the agonizing choice to give away his favorite son, Qais. In a sense, the div symbolizes the cruel, uncaring universe—the thing that forces human beings to make difficult choices, some of which are impossible to live with. If the “universe” in And the Mountains Echoed is a character, it is a volatile, cruel, unpredictable, and ultimately indifferent character—and the presence of the div is the first sign that this is the case.
The Div Quotes in And the Mountains Echoed
The And the Mountains Echoed quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Div. 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:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
Your son does not remember you, the div continued. This is his life now, and you saw for yourself his happiness. He is provided here with the finest food and clothes, with friendship and affection. He receives tutoring in the arts and languages and in the sciences, and in the ways of wisdom and charity. He wants for nothing. Someday, when he is a man, he may choose to leave, and he shall be free to do so. I suspect he will touch many lives with his kindness and bring happiness to those trapped in sorrow.
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“You are a cruel beast,” Baba Ayub said.
When you have lived as long as I have, the div replied, you find that cruelty and benevolence are but shades of the same color.
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The Div Symbol Timeline in And the Mountains Echoed
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Div appears in And the Mountains Echoed. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Baba Ayub’s fortunes change for the worse one day when a div, an evil monster, comes to his village. The div kills and eats anyone who dares...
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One night, the div knocks at the house of Baba Ayub. Baba and his family are horrified—they know that...
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After the div takes Qais from the village, there is a forty-day mourning period. Everyone prepares food for...
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Baba Ayub decides to seek out the div and kill it as revenge for it taking Qais. After many weeks of climbing and...
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The div tells Baba Ayub that he will gladly duel with him. Before the duel, however, the...
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Baba Ayub can’t understand what the div is telling him. The div explains that in his fortress, Qais is provided with a...
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...favorite child again. On the other, he recognizes that Qais’s life is better in the div’s home—Qais would surely be less happy in the village. After a long time, Baba Ayub...
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...where he finds his wife and family waiting for him. Baba Ayub drinks from the div’s bottle, and immediately forgets about his visit to the div. He forgets that he saw...
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Chapter 2
...them before their trip—the story about the farmer who sacrifices his favorite child to the div.
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Chapter 3
...family’s house. Saboor liked to entertain his friends by telling them stories about heroes and divs. One day while she is at a market with her mother, Parwana sees a beautiful...
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