DOCSLIB.ORG

Bahāʾ Ṭāhir's Al-Ḥubb Fī L-Manfā (Love in Exile)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bahāʾ Ṭāhir's Al-Ḥubb Fī L-Manfā (Love in Exile) Love versus Political Commitment An Arab Intellectual’s Dilemma as Portrayed in Bahāʾ Ṭāhir’s al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā (Love in Exile) Line Reichelt Føreland Thesis submitted for the Degree of Master of Arts in the field of Arabic language Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages Supervisor: Stephan Guth UNIVERSITY OF OSLO June 2011 I II Love versus Political Commitment: An Arab Intellectual’s Dilemma as portrayed in Bahā’ Ṭāhir’s al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā (Love in Exile) The process a formerly committed intellectual has to go through in order to gain consciousness of his destiny in the post-idealistic, postmodern, globalized world. III © Line Reichelt Føreland 2011 Love versus Political Commitment: An Arab Intellectual‟s Dilemma as Portrayed in Bahā’ Ṭāhir‟s al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā Line Reichelt Føreland http://www.duo.uio.no/ IV V Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... IX Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... X A note on translation and transliteration .................................................................................. XI 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Why al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā? ............................................................................................ 1 1.2 Sources ......................................................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Main Source ......................................................................................................... 2 1.2.2 Secondary Sources ............................................................................................... 2 1.3 Purpose of the study .................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Outline of the thesis ..................................................................................................... 5 2 Bahāʾ Ṭāhir and al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā .................................................................................. 7 2.1 Bahāʾ Ṭāhir .................................................................................................................. 7 2.2 al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā ..................................................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Summary ............................................................................................................ 11 3 Regional and geographical background ........................................................................... 14 3.1 The Arabic intellectual .............................................................................................. 14 3.1.1 The emergence of the Arab intellectual during the nahḍa ................................. 14 3.1.2 Arab nationalism ................................................................................................ 15 3.1.3 Economical liberalization ................................................................................... 17 3.2 The relation between „the East‟ and „the West‟ in Arabic literature ......................... 18 VI 3.3 Political commitment (iltizām) and the intellectuals ................................................. 23 4 Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 26 4.1 Vladimir Propp, functions and roles .......................................................................... 26 4.2 Schematic overview ................................................................................................... 27 4.3 Analysis of the structural functions and roles in al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā ........................ 33 4.4 The characters and their attributes ............................................................................. 44 4.4.1 The “hero” .......................................................................................................... 44 4.4.2 The “princess” .................................................................................................... 46 4.4.3 The “Giver” ........................................................................................................ 48 4.4.4 The “villain” ....................................................................................................... 49 4.4.5 The “helper” ....................................................................................................... 50 4.4.6 The “magical gift” .............................................................................................. 51 4.5 Literary devices and style of al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā ...................................................... 52 4.6 Analytical result ......................................................................................................... 57 4.6.1 List of the story‟s main features ......................................................................... 60 5 Interpretation .................................................................................................................... 62 5.1 The Crisis of the Arab Intellectuals in the 1990s in the Arab World ........................ 62 5.1.1 The role of an Arab intellectual as portrayed in al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā ................. 62 5.1.2 The significance of globalization and its impact according to al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā 69 5.2 Political and historical background: the Arab intellectual ......................................... 71 5.2.1 The nahḍa ........................................................................................................... 71 VII 5.2.2 Arab nationalism ................................................................................................ 72 5.2.3 Economic liberalization ...................................................................................... 73 5.2.4 Ṣabrā and Shātīlā ................................................................................................ 74 5.3 Literary historical context .......................................................................................... 76 5.3.1 al-Ḥassāsiyya al-Jadīda, or the generation of the 1960s ................................... 76 5.3.2 Postmodernism ................................................................................................... 78 5.3.3 The typical “hero” in Arabic literature ............................................................... 80 5.4 The novel and the East/West theme .......................................................................... 82 5.4.1 Europe in al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā ............................................................................. 82 5.4.2 European women in al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā ............................................................ 86 5.5 Arabs in exile – al-manfā .......................................................................................... 88 6 Concluding remarks ......................................................................................................... 92 7 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 95 7.1 Main source ............................................................................................................... 95 7.2 Secondary sources ..................................................................................................... 95 Appendix ................................................................................................................................ 100 VIII Abstract This study will examine the novel al-Ḥubb fī l-Manfā (Love in Exile, 1995) written by Bahā‟ Ṭāhir. The novel describes the life situation of a formerly committed intellectual living in exile who is trying to come to terms with the loss of his position in society. The protagonist is an avid supporter of the nationalist leader Gamāl „Abd al-Nāṣir. He was therefore personally affected by the political turmoil that resulted from the succession of ’Anwar al-Sādāt and the implementation of the new liberal economical policies (the infitāḥ policies). While living in exile, he meets the young and beautiful Brigitte, and experiences a moral dilemma – whether to choose love or political commitment. He has to choose between accepting a love he does not feel he deserves and trying to be a committed intellectual as he is expecting of himself, despite the fact that his (lost) position in society and being in exile make it impossible for him to commit himself to political activism. An Arab prince also appears who tries to trick the protagonist, and who turns out to be a bigger threat than this moral dilemma. The plot of the novel takes place in the year 1982, the summer of Israel‟s invasion of Lebanon, with the following massacres in the Palestinian refugee camps. The lacking reactions from the outside world contribute to the feeling that people today have become apolitical and detached. I try to place the novel within the two debates and literary traditions to which I consider it to belong: The role of the intellectual and the East/West theme. The introductory section in this study therefore presents the historical background to both
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Literary Networks and the Making of Egypt's Nineties Generation By
    Writing in Cairo: Literary Networks and the Making of Egypt’s Nineties Generation by Nancy Spleth Linthicum A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Near Eastern Studies) in the University of Michigan 2019 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Carol Bardenstein, Chair Associate Professor Samer Ali Professor Anton Shammas Associate Professor Megan Sweeney Nancy Spleth Linthicum [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9782-0133 © Nancy Spleth Linthicum 2019 Dedication Writing in Cairo is dedicated to my parents, Dorothy and Tom Linthicum, with much love and gratitude for their unwavering encouragement and support. ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee for their invaluable advice and insights and for sticking with me throughout the circuitous journey that resulted in this dissertation. It would not have been possible without my chair, Carol Bardenstein, who helped shape the project from its inception. I am particularly grateful for her guidance and encouragement to pursue ideas that others may have found too far afield for a “literature” dissertation, while making sure I did not lose sight of the texts themselves. Anton Shammas, throughout my graduate career, pushed me to new ways of thinking that I could not have reached on my own. Coming from outside the field of Arabic literature, Megan Sweeney provided incisive feedback that ensured I spoke to a broader audience and helped me better frame and articulate my arguments. Samer Ali’s ongoing support and feedback, even before coming to the University of Michigan (UM), likewise was instrumental in bringing this dissertation to fruition.
    [Show full text]
  • Leaks, Hacks, and Scandals
    © Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means without prior written permission of the publisher. INTRODUCTION The image in figure 1 is a screenshot of the hacking of the website of the Leba- nese Ministry of Energy and Water responsible for the country’s electricity in April 2012 by a group called Raise Your Voice, a self- proclaimed offshoot of the global hackers collective Anonymous.1 Protesting poor living conditions and in- adequate social services, the hackers not only crashed the government agency’s site but also substituted one text for another. Reenacting an electric cut, they transformed the cursor into a flashlight that needs to be moved around in order to light up an otherwise dark screen. This act of hacking defaces the ministry website through a textual and technological performance that involves viewers as active participants who need to move the cursor in order to reveal the text. But what is being exposed through this hacking? Is it the text itself, the reading practice directed toward it, or the failing nation-s tate unable to fulfill its duties vis- à- vis its citizens? What writing genre, aesthetics, and critique of power does the flashlight make legible? Figure 1. “Electricity is cut off.” Ministry of Energy and Water, April 16, 2012, http:// www.energyandwater.gov.lb/. For general queries, contact [email protected] © Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means without prior written permission of the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Social Agents in the Translation Into English of the Novels of Naguib Mahfouz
    Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions. If you have discovered material in AURA which is unlawful e.g. breaches copyright, (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please read our Takedown Policy and contact the service immediately The Role of Social Agents in the Translation into English of the Novels of Naguib Mahfouz Vol. 1/2 Linda Ahed Alkhawaja Doctor of Philosophy ASTON UNIVERSITY April, 2014 ©Linda Ahed Alkhawaja, 2014 This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. Thesis Summary Aston University The Role of Social Agents in the Translation into English of the Novels of Naguib Mahfouz Linda Ahed Alkhawaja Doctor of Philosophy (by Research) April, 2014 This research investigates the field of translation in an Egyptain context around the work of the Egyptian writer and Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz by adopting Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological framework. Bourdieu’s framework is used to examine the relationship between the field of cultural production and its social agents. The thesis includes investigation in two areas: first, the role of social agents in structuring and restructuring the field of translation, taking Mahfouz’s works as a case study; their role in the production and reception of translations and their practices in the field; and second, the way the field, with its political and socio-cultural factors, has influenced translators’ behaviour and structured their practices.
    [Show full text]
  • Egypt's Culture Wars: Politics and Practice
    Egypt’s Culture Wars Egypt is the cultural centre of the Arab world and sets a lot of the intellectual agenda for the rest of the region. The strain between secular liberals, an authorit- arian state and Islamists is reaching boiling point in Egypt and mirrors to some extent similar pressures elsewhere in the Arab world. This ground-breaking work presents original research on cultural politics and battles in Egypt at the turn of the twenty-first century. It deconstructs the bound- aries between “high” and “low” culture, drawing on conceptual tools in cultural studies, translation studies and gender studies to analyse debates in the fields of literature, cinema, mass media and the plastic arts. Anchored in the Egyptian historical and social contexts and inspired by the influential work of Pierre Bour- dieu, it rigorously places these debates and battles within the larger framework of a set of questions about the relationship between the cultural and political fields in Egypt. Egypt’s Culture Wars is a valuable contribution to the often neglected and ignored subject of cultural politics and battles for representation in Egypt. Detailed and insightful, this innovative interdisciplinary volume allows us to understand what has been happening in the sphere of public debate in Egypt. As such, it will be of interest to scholars and students from the literary field, cultural studies, political science, Middle East studies, sociology and gender studies. Samia Mehrez is Professor at the Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations, American University in Cairo, Egypt. Routledge advances in Middle East and Islamic studies 1 Iraqi Kurdistan Political development and emergent democracy Gareth R.
    [Show full text]
  • When East Meets West in Bahaa Taher's Sunset Oasis a Post
    Identity Quest: When East Meets West in Bahaa Taher’s Sunset Oasis A Post-Colonial Reading Mona Kattaya, Ain Shams University, Egypt The IAFOR International Conference on Arts & Humanities – Dubai 2017 Official Conference Proceedings Abstract The cultural representation of the Western Other in modern Arabic fiction is a formidable body of texts that stretches over a span of almost one hundred years – from the beginning of the twentieth century until the present. Emerging out of the experience of colonization, most of these fictional narratives have asserted themselves by foregrounding the tension with the imperial Other, thus emphasizing a discourse where the encounter between East and West, whether literal or metaphorical, has been presented in a series of deep rooted dichotomies of East/West, colonized/colonizer, slave/master, backward/civilized, bonded/free, etc. From this cultural output stands out Bahaa Taher’s Sunset Oasis (2007). The winner of the inaugural International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) in March 2008, Sunset Oasis in a way continues the initial perceptions of the West in Arab fiction, but, more importantly, it, in other ways, contests them. This paper analyses the two main characters’ hybrid identities whose constructions expose what the post-colonial critic Homi Bhabha considers threats to authority in their revelation of colonial anxiety as well as anti-colonial resistance. The paper concludes that, in its decidedly holistic perspective, Bahaa Taher’s novel goes beyond the usual chaos and conflict of Eastern-Western encounters into spaces of understanding, equality, dialogue, and compatibility. Keywords: Bahaa Taher, Sunset Oasis, Hybridity, Identity, East, West. iafor The International Academic Forum www.iafor.org Introduction The fictional representation of the East-West encounter in post-colonial Arab novels is a formidable body of texts that has considered the theme of identity as one of its essential discussion.
    [Show full text]
  • Commitment and Beyond: Reflections On/Of the Political in Arabic Literature Since the 1940S
    Friederike Pannewick and Georges Khalil together with Yvonne Albers: Commitment and Beyond: Reflections on/of the Political in Arabic Literature since the 1940s Introduction: Tracks and Traces of Literary Commitment – On Iltizām as an Ongoing Intellectual Project eISBN: 978-3-95490-613-0 Copyright Das Digitalisat wird Ihnen von perspectivia.net, der Online- Publikationsplattform der Max Weber Stiftung – Deutsche Geisteswissenschaftliche Institute im Ausland, zur Verfügung gestellt. Bitte beachten Sie, dass das Digitalisat urheberrechtlich geschützt ist. Erlaubt ist aber das Lesen, das Ausdrucken des Textes, das Herunterladen, das Speichern der Daten auf einem eigenen Datenträger soweit die vorgenannten Handlungen ausschließlich zu privaten und nicht-kommerziellen Zwecken erfolgen. Eine darüber hinausgehende unerlaubte Verwendung, Reproduktion oder Weitergabe einzelner Inhalte oder Bilder können sowohl zivil- als auch strafrechtlich verfolgt werden. Introduction: Tracks and Traces of Literary Commitment— On Iltizām as an Ongoing Intellectual Project Yvonne Albers, Georges Khalil, Friederike Pannewick If one day the people will to live Then destiny must reply; The darkness must disappear, And bonds must break.1 These are the lines of the poem “The Will to Live” (“Irādat al-ḥayāh”) written in 1933 by the Tunisian poet Abū al-Qāsim al-Shābbī (1909‒1934) to which the rallying chant of the popu- lar uprisings in the Arab world in 2011 responded: “The people want the fall of the re- gime/system” (“Al-shaʿb yurīd isqāṭ al-niẓām”). Regimes indeed fell and history is evolving. The euphoria sparked by the fall of authoritarian rulers in Tunisia and Egypt that year has now evaporated. Current developments in many countries of the region seem to be heading in different directions, towards greater fragmentation, sectarianism, and violence, witnessing a resurgence of the paradigms of the old order, such as the outworn dichotomy of authoritari- anism versus religious extremism.
    [Show full text]
  • The Intellectual and the People in Egyptian Literature and Culture
    The Intellectual and the People in Egyptian Literature and Culture DOI: 10.1057/9781137392442.0001 Other Palgrave Pivot titles William Van Lear: The Social Effects of Economic Thinking Mark E. Schaefer and John G. Poffenbarger: The Formation of the BRICS and Its Implication for the United States: Emerging Together Donatella Padua: John Maynard Keynes and the Economy of Trust: The Relevance of the Keynesian Social Thought in a Global Society Davinia Thornley: Cinema, Cross-Cultural Collaboration, and Criticism: Filming on an Uneven Field Lou Agosta: A Rumor of Empathy: Rewriting Empathy in the Context of Philosophy Tom Watson (editor): Middle Eastern and African Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations: Other Voices Adebusuyi Isaac Adeniran: Migration and Regional Integration in West Africa: A Borderless ECOWAS Craig A. Cunningham: Systems Theory for Pragmatic Schooling: Toward Principles of Democratic Education David H. Gans and Ilya Shapiro: Religious Liberties for Corporations?: Hobby Lobby, the Affordable Care Act, and the Constitution Samuel Larner: Forensic Authorship Analysis and the World Wide Web Karen Rich: Interviewing Rape Victims: Practice and Policy Issues in an International Context Ulrike M. Vieten (editor): Revisiting Iris Marion Young on Normalisation, Inclusion and Democracy Fuchaka Waswa, Christine Ruth Saru Kilalo, and Dominic Mwambi Mwasaru: Sustainable Community Development: Dilemma of Options in Kenya Giovanni Barone Adesi (editor): Simulating Security Returns: A Filtered Historical Simulation Approach Daniel Briggs and Dorina Dobre: Culture and Immigration in Context: An Ethnography of Romanian Migrant Workers in London M.J. Toswell: Borges the Unacknowledged Medievalist Anthony Lack: Martin Heidegger on Technology, Ecology, and the Arts Carlos A.
    [Show full text]
  • The American University in Cairo Press
    Fall_2010_catalog_cover_final_Catalog_coverFall2008_final 20.07.10 15:28 Seite 1 Arabic Literature in Translation Archaeology and Ancient Egypt Architecture and the Arts History and Biography Language Studies Politics, Economics, and Social Issues Religious Studies Travel Literature and Guidebooks TheThe AmericanAmerican UniversityUniversity The American University in Cairo Press Cairo New York London inin Cairo Cairo www.aucpress.com PressPress Complete Catalog Fall 2010 Twentieth-Century Egyptian Art The Private Collection of Sherwet Shafei Mona Abaza With Collector’s Notes by Sherwet Shafei A prominent Cairo art gallery owner displays masterpieces of modern Egyptian art never previously published This sumptuous full-color volume retraces the high- lights of the country’s twentieth-century art world through the private collection of one of Cairo’s most reputable private gallery owners. The 200 color reproductions of paintings from Sherwet Shafei’s collection represent works from very early pioneers such as Shaaban Zaki and Ervand Dermirdjan to later figures such as Salah Taher and Abd El Hadi El Gazzar. In a comprehensive introduction that examines the life and career of Sherwet Shafei and her pivotal role in promoting and creating a market for modern Egyptian art, the author also addresses the tenden- cies of emerging art collectors in Egypt’s “blossom- ing” market, the burdens of forgery, and the impact of globalization on the art industry. This book serves as a repository of Egyptian cultural heritage by offering a rare viewing of a valuable collection that has yet to be displayed in its entirety. Mona Abaza is professor of sociology at the American University in Cairo and is currently visiting professor of Islamology at Lund University in Sweden.
    [Show full text]
  • Sufism in the Contemporary Arabic Novel
    Sufism in the Contemporary Arabic Novel Ziad Elmarsafy ELMARSAFY 9780748641406 PRINT.indd iii 23/10/2012 17:16 © Ziad Elmarsafy, 2012 Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LF www.euppublishing.com Typeset in 11/15 Adobe Garamond by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire, and printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7486 4140 6 (hardback) ISBN 978 0 7486 5564 9 (webready PDF) ISBN 978 0 7486 5566 3 (epub) ISBN 978 0 7486 5565 6 (Amazon ebook) The right of Ziad Elmarsafy to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. ELMARSAFY 9780748641406 PRINT.indd iv 23/10/2012 17:16 Contents Series Editor’s Foreword vii Abbreviations x Acknowledgements xi Introduction: Ouverture 1 1 Naguib Mahfouz: (En)chanting Justice 23 2 Tayeb Salih: The Returns of the Saint 52 3 Maªmūd Al-Masʿadī: Witnessing Immortality 66 4 The Survival of Gamal Al-Ghitany 78 5 Ibrahim Al-Koni: Writing and Sacrifice 107 6 Tahar Ouettar: The Saint and the Nightmare of History 139 Epilogue: Bahaa Taher, Solidarity and Idealism 162 Notes 168 Bibliography 235 Index 253 ELMARSAFY 9780748641406 PRINT.indd v 23/10/2012 17:16 ELMARSAFY 9780748641406 PRINT.indd vi 23/10/2012 17:16 Series Editor’s Foreword new and unique series, ‘Edinburgh Studies in Modern Arabic Literature’ A will, it is hoped, fill in a gap in scholarship in the field of modern Arabic literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Dr. Maha M. Sallam POSITION: Associate Professor of English Literature
    FACULTY FULL NAME: Dr. Maha M. Sallam POSITION: Associate Professor of English Literature Personal Data Nationality | Egyptian Date of Birth | 11/ 12/ 1957 Department | English Official IAU Email | [email protected] Phone No. | 0542257910 Language Proficiency Language Read Write Speak Arabic excellent excellent excellent English excellent excellent excellent Others: French very good good pass Academic Qualifications (Beginning with the most recent) Date Academic Degree Place of Address Issue 2005 PhD Ain Shams Cairo (First Degree Honours) University 2002 Master Ain Shams Cairo (Excellent with Honours) University 2000 BA Ain Shams Cairo (Excellent with Honours) University 1987 Master (Internal Medicine) Faculty of Cairo Medicine, Cairo University 1980 M.B., B.Ch. (Medicine and Faculty of Cairo Surgery) Medicine, Cairo University PhD, Master or Fellowship Research Title: (Academic Honors or Distinctions) PhD The Gothic Vision of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and the Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Irish Settler Colonial Order Master Reading History in Selected Plays By Sean O'Casey and Frank McGuinness (English Literature) Master Osteoporosis (Internal Medicine) Professional Record: (Beginning with the most recent) Job Rank Place and Address of Work Date Associate Ain Shams University and Imam 2014 Professor Abdulrahman bin Faisal University Assistant Ain Shams University and Imam 2006 Professor Abdulrahman bin Faisal University Lecturer Faculty of Arts – Ain Shams 2002 University Demonstrator Faculty of Arts – Ain Shams 2000 University Scientific Achievements Published Refereed Scientific Researches (In Chronological Order Beginning with the Most Recent) # Name of Investigator(s) Research Title Publisher and Date of Publication 1 Dr. Maha Sallam Trauma, Narrative, and Annals of the Faculty of History in Rabee Jaber's Arts, Ain Shams University, Yusef the Englishman Volume 44 , Issue number and The Druze of 3, 2016 Belgrade 2 Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Complete Catalog Fall Catalog Fall 2008 Q7:Catalog Fall 2008 24.07.2008 11:27 Uhr Page 1
    Fall2008_catalog_cover_final:Catalog_coverFall2008_final 18.08.2008 12:19 Uhr Page 1 Arabic Literature in Translation Archaeology and Ancient Egypt Architecture and the Arts History and Biography Language Studies Politics, Economics, and Social Issues Religious Studies Travel Literature and Guidebooks 2008 Complete Catalog Fall Catalog_fall_2008_Q7:catalog_fall_2008 24.07.2008 11:27 Uhr Page 1 Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz Khan al-Khalili Naguib Mahfouz Also by Naguib Mahfouz: A Modern Arabic Novel Cairo Modern Translated by Roger Allen Morning and Evening Talk A major early novel by the Egyptian Nobel Laureate The Complete Mahfouz Library: The time is 1942, the Second World War is at its The 25 Fiction Volumes of the height, and the Africa Campaign is raging along the Nobel Laureate in English northern coast of Egypt as far as El Alamein. Against this backdrop of international upheaval, the novel tells the story of the Akifs, a middle-class family that has taken refuge in Cairo’s historic and bustling Khan al-Khalili neighborhood. Believing that the German forces will never bomb such a famously religious part of the city, they seek safety among the crowded alleyways, busy cafés, and ancient mosques of the Khan, adjacent to the area where Mahfouz himself spent much of his young life. Through the eyes of Ahmad, the eldest Akif son and the novel’s central character, Mahfouz presents a richly textured vision of the Khan, drawing on his own memories to assemble a lively cast of characters whose world is framed by the sights, smells, and flavors of his childhood home. Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006) was born in the crowded Cairo district of Gamaliya.
    [Show full text]
  • Arab Feminism and the Negotiation of Gender in Contemporary Jordanian Novels
    Arab Feminism and the Negotiation of Gender in Contemporary Jordanian Novels Amani Al-Serhan PhD University of York Women’s Studies January 2016 ABSTRACT Since 2000, Jordanian literature has witnessed a rise in the number of novels that address women’s daily struggles with gender discrimination, marking a shift away from literary texts that overtly focus on Palestine. Yet, despite the rise in Jordanian feminist novels, there has been little cross-fertilisation between literary criticism and the perspectives of Arab women’s movements. This thesis attempts to bring these fields together. My main aim is to use the lens of Arab feminism to investigate how perceptions of womanhood and manhood are negotiated in Jordanian novels (2000– 2012) written by both women and men. I argue that the political debate about how tradition and modernity can advance women’s status in the Arab world influences the ways in which these novelists shape and re/frame notions of womanhood and manhood. I identify three categories of novels, based on the authors’ strategies for conceptualising and overcoming gender inequality. The first advocates a rebellious stance against patriarchal structures, deploying notions of sexuality, escape or suicide as available solutions. The second calls for a return to tradition, and in particular to Islamic Holy Scriptures as texts that endow women with great value and status, viewing this as an alternative to imitating or adopting forms of western feminism. The final group emphasises the need to dissociate from perceiving tradition as the antithesis of modernity. They attempt to bring together useful aspects of both paradigms in ways that help women combat gender inequality.
    [Show full text]