Themes in the Francophone Algerian Novel
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Themes in the Francophone Algerian Novel ZAHIA SMAIL ( Salhi ) to the University of Exeter as a Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Modern Literature in the Faculty of Arts August 1991 Themes in the Francophone Algerian Novel ~ S A11.4 ~~► j .14111 Submited by ZAHIA SMAIL ( Salhi ) to the University of Exeter as a Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Modern Literature in the Faculty of Arts August 1991 The thesis is available for the library use on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation taken from the thesis nor any information derived from it may be published without the author's written consent. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own has been identified and that no material is included for which a degree has previously been conferred upon me. Signed CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements Abstract Preface 7 Introduction 10 Chapter One The Emergence of a Francophone literature in Algeria 20 Section One: The Literature of the French 21 1 Tourist Writers and the Exotic Novel 2 The 'Algerianist' Literary Movement 3 L'Ecole d'Alger Section Two: The Algerianists' Efforts to Create an Indigenous Literature 32 Chapter Two The Period of Imitation and Assimilation (1908-1947) 35 Introduction 1 Chukri Khodja, El-Euldj, captif des barbaresques 2 Saad ben Ali and René Pottier, La Tente noire, roman saharien 3 Said Guennoun, La Voix des monts - moeurs de guerre berbères 4 Aissa Zehar, Hind d l'âme pure, ou histoire d'une mère and Djamila Débêche, Leila, Jeune Fille d'Algérie Chapter Three A Transitional Period (1947-1950) 70 Introduction 1 Aly El-Hammamy, Idris 2 Taos Amrouche, Jacinthe noire Chapter Four A Period of Revelation (1950-1952) 103 Section One: A Thematic Approach 104 1 Mouloud Feraoun, Le Fils du pauvre 2 Mohammed Dib, La Grande maison 3 Mouloud Mammeri, La Colline oubliée Section Two: Political Contestation 126 Chapter Five Realism, Alienation and Revolution: The Algerian Novel Comes of Age (1953-1959) 137 1 Mouloud Feraoun, La Terre et le sang 2 Mouloud Feraoun, Les Chemins qui montent 3 Mouloud Mammeri, Le sommeil du juste 4 Mohammed Dib, l'Incendie 5 Mohammed Dib, Le Métier à tisser 6 Kateb Yacine, Nedjma Chapter Six Women in the Algerian Novel of the Fifties (1950-1959) 185 Section One: Algerian Women as Seen by the Male Novelists 186 1 The Symbolic vision of Women 2 The Socio-Realistic View of Women Mohammed Dib, Un Eté Africain Section Two: Algerian Women Speak for Themselves 204 1 Djamila Débêche, Aziza 2 Assia Djebar, La Soif 3 Assia Djebar, Les Impatients Chapter Seven A Literature of Combat (1962-1965) 216 Introduction 1 Assia Djebar, Les Enfants du nouveau monde 2 Mohammed Dib, Qui se souvient de la mer 3 Mouloud Mammeri, L'Opium et le bâton Conclusion and Epilogue: Post-Independence Concerns 241 Bibliography 251 Appendices Appendix One: Plot Summaries 270 Appendix Two: Bibliographical Notes 285 Appendix Three: Bibliography of the Francophone Algerian Novel: 1908-1986 299 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My gratitude and special thanks are due to my supervisors Dr. Rasheed El-. Enany and Professor Aziz El-Azmeh who have given me academic and personal advice. I am deeply indebted to them for their constant support and encouragement. I am thankful to the Algerian Ministery of higher education for the sponsorship of my studies, to Sheila Westcott for the typing of most parts of my thesis and Serena Cant for having read the final script of this work. I am most grateful to Kamal, my husband, whose exemplary moral support and challenge pre-empted academic frustrations. Nor should I ever forget my dear father who has influenced my ambitions. Finally, I would like to extend my appreciation to all those who, in one way or another, offered personal support and encouragement. To the one who dedicated herself to the cause of National Independence ... Only to then loose her own. To my mother I dedicate this Thesis. ABSTRACT This thesis examines the development of the Francophone Algerian novel, the circumstances of its emergence, and the various phases of its progress through the pre- independence period, and the extent to which this parallels the political evolution of Algerian nationalism exemplified in Ferhat Abbas. The thesis focuses on the major themes discussed in the novels of this period, and surveys the criticism of both the French and the Algerian nationalist inteligentsia. The first themes in the Francophone Algerian novel are based on the authors' praise for their adopted mère patrie, France, for her humanitarian civilization. Deeply fascinated by this civilization, the writers of the thirties and early fourties rejected their people's "barbaric" way of life and called for their emancipation. In the late fourties a major turn in the themes of the Francophone Algerian novel occured; whereas Taos Amrouche expressed the complaint of the alienated Algerian whose suffering is caused by her parents' naturalization, Aly El-Hammamy wrote an angry novel in which he described the awakening of his hero to a better understanding of the colonial situation in his country, and his subsequent rejection of the French civilization as a lie. In the early fifties, the writers revealed the bad living conditions of their people, and in the late fifties their tone in blaming the colonizer for being the cause of their people's misery and alienation became explicit. the novels of this period became nationalistic and depicted an atmosphere of rebellion showing to what extent every Algerian was ready to fight the colonizer with the use of arms. Among these themes, the theme of women imposes itself both in the way they were viewed by their male compatriots and in the way they emerged in the fifties with a determination to free themselves from the webs of alienation both in the social and the colonial meaning of the word. In the end of this work, the theme of combat as a means to achieve independence is discussed. PREFACE The first major motive behind this study is to counter the common opinion that the first Francophone Algerian novel appeared in 1950, whereas in reality it appeared much earlier in 1908. Those who reject these early novels argue that their writers are a group of assimilated Algerians who betrayed their people's cause, and described Algerian society with a colonial eye. For this purpose, various and major themes as they appear in the novels published between 1908 and 1962 are discussed, and the early novels are considered not only as the legitimate ancestor of the novels published in the 1950s, but also as an important and compulsory phase in the development of the Francophone Algerian novel which runs parrallel to that of the Algerian national consciousness, exemplified by Beriaat-Ai5bVs. This work is introduced with a historical and cultural background to help the reader understand the themes of the Francophone Algerian novel as well as the socio- political environment in which it emerged. Chapter One examines the literature of the French in Algeria, and their influence upon the native Algerians. Chapter Two surveys the different positions of various critics concerning the fist Francophone novels by native Algerians. It also examines the major themes discussed in these novels, putting emphasis on the writers' praise for their French civilizers and their wish to become French citizens. This corresponds to Ferhat Abbas's early stage when he considered Algeria a French province. Chapter Three studies two novels whose themes contradict those of the period of imitation, and demonstrates that the preceeding writers were wrong to put their trust in a 'civilizer' who, in reality was a 'colonizer'. The studied authors, Aly El-Hammamy and Taos Amrouche, let out the long complaint of the colonized Algerian through their respective heroes who discovered the real face of their adopted mère patrie France. In Chapter Four, novels are discussed in which the authors depict their people's suffering under colonial yoke. Although their tone is not as explicit as that of El-Hammamy or Taos, they believe the revelation of their people's malaise is in itself a revolutionary act. Chapter five potttays a group of heroes whose sense of anger following the end of the Second World War is at its highest level. Deeply alienated and in an endless search for their national identity, those heroes concluded that only an armed revolution would free their people from the webs of colonization. So believed Ferhat Abbas in 1953. Chapter six examines the difficult condition of the Algerian woman whose sense of alienation is due to the colonial situation in her country as well as to her position as a second class citizen in a society that favours its male members. The first section of this chapter studies the Algerian woman as seen by the male novelists of the fifties, and shows that whereas some authors gave a socio-realistic view of these women, some others had a symbolic vision of them. In section two Algerian women speak for themselves and depict their double sense of alienation. In chapter seven the alienated heroes, men and women, join the armed revolution to rid themselves of the causes of their alienation,i.e. French colonialism. The conclusion of this work also discusses certain post-independence concerns such as the actual condition of Francophone literature in Algeria. Some appendices are added to this work. Appendix one gives plot summaries of the early novels which are not easily obtainable. Appendix two gives some biographical notes on novelists to help the reader have a wider idea of the writers studied and their works.