Angry Words Softly Spoken
A Comparative Study of English and Arabic Women Writers
Published on 31. October 2007
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-872843-93-3 (ISBN)
Description
This book deals with the concept of feminism as a cross-cultural literary device that uncovers the social development of women's emancipatory progress through the work of both English and Arab female novelists. The main premise of this study relies on many of the theories presented by the 1970's feminist critical movement, especially that of Elaine Showalter's tripartite structure. It also suggests a new tripartite structure for the evolution of feminist consciousness in works of fiction involving the an inversion of scales in "softness" and "anger" explored through the work of such authors as Charlotte Bronte, Sarah Grand, Virginia Woolf, Layla al Othman, Nawal al Saadawi and Hanan al Shaykh.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
EAPGROUP
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 3 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-872843-93-3 (9781872843933)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Dr Alanoud Al Sharekh is a member of the Advisory Council of the London Middle East Institute. She is a specialist in feminist literature in the Arab Middle East and has held teaching posts at both Kuwait University and the Arab Open University. She serves on the boards of a number of NGOs and philanthropic organizations and has been an academic consultant on women's issues and a representative for the Kuwaiti Government officially and as a civil society group representative at the French government, the United Nations and the EU Parliament. She has lectured in many local and international institutions including Uppsala University, Sweden, and has written several articles and two books on women in the Arab World. Dr Al Sharekh is the first individual recipient of a Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) grant and is currently working on three separate projects as a consultant for UNIFEM in the GCC area.
Content
Acknowledgements 9 1 | Feminist Endeavours and the Arabic Novel 11 1.1 | Introduction 11 1.2 | Feminism and Feminist Theory 13 1.2.1 | Anglo-American vs French Feminist Theory 14 1.2.2 | Other Schools of Feminist Theory 17 1.2.3 | The Evolution of Feminism in the Arab World 19 1.2.3.1 | Colonialism, Modernity and the New Mother 20 1.2.3.2 | The Historical Progression of Feminism in the Arab World 21 1.2.3.3 | Islam and Feminism 24 1.2.3.4 | Problems with 'Feminism' as a Concept 25 1.3 | Elaine Showalter's A Literature of Their Own 26 1.4 | The Development of the Novel Form in the Arab World 29 1.4.1 | The Origin of the Arabic Novel 30 1.4.1.1 | Contact with the West 30 1.4.1.2 | Translation of Western Fiction 31 1.4.2 | The Nahcdah and the Revival of the Maq amah 32 1.4.3 | The Arabisation of the Novel 33 1.4.4 | The Arabic Historical Novel 33 1.4.5 | The Progress of Arab Fiction and the Growth of the Egyptian Novel 34 1.4.6 | The Influence of Realism and Nationalism 34 1.4.7 | Egyptian Modernists: Naj b Ma hf u z 35 1.4.8 | The Contemporary Arabic Novel 36 1.4.9 | The Birth of the Feminist Novel 36 2 | Feminine 39 2.1 | Elaine Showalter's Feminine 39 2.1.1 | Feminine Heroes and Heroines 43 2.1.2 | Bront|e and al-oUthm an: Quintessential Feminine Novelists 45 2.2 | Charlotte Bront|e 45 2.2.1 | Charlotte Bront|e's Work 45 2.2.1.1 | Jane Eyre 46 2.2.1.2 | Villette 47 2.2.2 | The Victorian Principle: Setting Charlotte Bront|e's Work in Its Socio-Historical Background 48 2.2.3 | The Autobiographical Novel 49 2.2.4 | Internal Dialogues: The Tool of First-Person Narration 50 2.2.5 | The Language of Emotion 52 2.2.6 | The Feminine Male Ideal 53 2.2.7 | The New Gothic: A Tool for Feminist Exploration 56 2.2.8 | Splitting the Psyche: The Mad Woman in the Attic 57 2.2.9 | The Role of Religion: Subverting the Male God 58 2.2.10 | Families and Marriage: A Double-Edged Sword 59 2.2.11 | The Socialist Implications of the Novel 60 2.2.12 | The Controversy of Social Convention 61 2.2.13 | Claims to Feminism 61 2.2.14 | Defeating the Feminist Agenda 63 2.2.15 | Literary Merits: Soft Anger 65 2.3 | Layl a al-oUthm an 66 2.3.1 | Layl a al-oUthm an's Work 66 2.3.1.1 | The Woman and the Cat 66 2.3.1.2 | Wasmiyyah Emerges from the Sea 67 2.3.2 | From Camels to Cadillacs: Setting Layl a al-oUthm an's Work in Its Socio-Historical Background 67 2.3.3 | The Autobiographical Novel 69 2.3.4 | Internal Dialogues: The Tools of a Feminine Author 69 2.3.5 | The Language of Emotion 71 2.3.6 | The Feminine Male Ideal 71 2.3.7 | Woman against Herself:234 Kuwaiti Gender Roles 72 2.3.8 | Mortifying the Flesh: The Dilemma of Arab Women Writers 73 2.3.9 | Feminine Exploration: The Gothic Elements 75 2.3.10 | Splitting the Psyche: The Angel in the House 76 2.3.11 | The Missing God in the Work of Layl a al-oUthm an 78 2.3.12 | Families and Marriage: A Double-Edged Sword 79 2.3.13 | The Socialist Implications of the Novels 80 2.3.14 | The Controversy of Social Convention 80 2.3.15 | Claims to Feminism 83 2.3.16 | Defeating the Feminist Agenda 83 2.3.17 | Literary Merits: Soft Anger 85 2.4 | Conclusion 86 2.4.1 | Physical and Environmental Similarities 86 2.4.2 | Stylistic Similarities 86 2.4.3 | Differences 87 3| Feminist 89 3.1 | Elaine Showalter's Feminist 89 3.1.1 | Earlier and Later Feminists 91 3.1.2 | Suffrage 92 3.1.3 | Grand and al-SaUd aw : Representations of the Feminist 93 3.2 | Sarah Grand 93 3.2.1 | Sarah Grand's Work 93 3.2.1.1 | The Heavenly Twins 94 3.2.1.2 | The Beth Book 95 3.2.2 | Placing Sarah Grand's Work in Its Socio-Historical Background 96 3.2.3 | The New Woman 97 3.2.4 | Feminist Autobiography: The Artist as a Young Woman 99 3.2.5 | Political Diatribes: Social and Legal Issues in the Novels of Sarah Grand 101 3.2.6 | Breaking the Silence: Taboos to the Fore 102 3.2.7 | Feminism and the Marriage Question 103 3.2.8 | Bearing the Fruits of Feminist Thought: Male Hypocrisy and Female Servility 106 3.2.9 | Androgyny and the Annihilation of the Female Body 109 3.2.10 | The Fight for Freedom: Unresolved Issues 110 3.2.11 | Literary Merits: Rage Against the Machine 113 3.3 | Naw al al-SaUd aw 114 3.3.1 | Naw al al-SaUd aw 's Work 114 3.3.1.1 | Memoirs of a Female Physician 115 3.3.1.2 | Woman at Point Zero 116 3.3.2 | Placing Naw al al-SaUd aw 's Work in Its Socio-Historical Background 118 3.3.3 | Woman vs Man: Radical Feminism in Naw al al-SaUd aw 's Novels 119 3.3.4 | Breaking the Bonds of Tradition 121 3.3.5 | Pandering to the Western Reader 123 3.3.6 | Feminist Victories 126 3.3.7 | Penis Envy: Naw al al-SaUd aw and the Desire to be Male 128 3.3.8 | Inverting Patriarchal Codes 129 3.3.9 | Literary Merits: Rage against the Machine 131 3.4 | Conclusion 132 3.4.1 | Similarities 132 3.4.2 | Contrasts 134 4.1 | Elaine Showalter's Female 137 4 | Female 137 4.1.1 | Early Female and Late Female 140 4.1.2 | Virginia Woolf and AEHan an al-Shaykh: Female Models 141 4.2 | Virginia Woolf 141 4.2.1 | Virginia Woolf's Work 142 4.2.1.1 | Mrs Dalloway 143 4.2.1.2 | To the Lighthouse 144 4.2.2 | Placing Virginia Woolf's Work in Its Socio-Historical Background506 145 4.2.3 | Doubles, Mirrors and Madness: Female Evolution through Feminist Revolution 146 4.2.4 | The Flight into Androgyny 148 4.2.5 The Obsession with Inner Space: An Alternative Reality 150 4.2.6 | Lesbianism and Female Self-Discovery 153 4.2.7 | Claims to Feminism 155 4.2.8 | Defeats to the Feminist Cause 156 4.2.9 | Literary Merits: Angry Softness 159 4.3 | AEHan an al-Shaykh 160 4.3.1 | AEHan an al-Shaykh's Work 160 4.3.1.1 | The Story of Zahra 160 4.3.1.2 | Women of Sand and Myrrh 161 4.3.2 | Placing AEHan an al-Shaykh's Work in Its Socio-Historical Background 163 4.3.3 | From Babushkas to Barbies: The Problematic Status of Women in Lebanon 164 4.3.4 | War as Liberator in the Novels of Levantine Women Writers 166 4.3.5 | Madness and Desire: Female Codes in the Search for Self Identification 168 4.3.6 | Lebanon through the Looking Glass: Selective Realism 171 4.3.7 | Claims to Feminism 173 4.3.8 | Anti-Feminist Strategies 174 4.3.10 | Literary Merits: Angry Softness 176 4.4 | Conclusion 176 4.4.1 | Similarities 178 4.4.2 | Differences 179 5 | Angry Words Softly Spoken 181 5.1 | Conclusion 181 Bibliography 197 Footnotes 207 Index 231