For Parvana, death is less terrifying than being found out to be a girl. This highlights how desperate she is to help her family by earning money. The money, however, makes the fear and the danger seem worth it—and makes lying to Mother about her whereabouts seem like a reasonable plan. In this moment, then, Parvana is learning to exercise her independence and her agency in a way that she knows Mother wouldn’t approve of. She becomes more mature and adult as she does this, as she begins to see the sense in lying if it means the family can eat.