طرح نسوي لمفهوم البيت في حكاية زهرة وصاحب البيت / The Concept of Home in the Story of Zahra and The Owner of the House: A Feminist Reading

Program

ALIF

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http://www.jstor.org/stable/521932

All Authors

أبو النجا, شيرين; Abou El Naga, Shereen

Document Type

Research Article

Publication Title

Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics

Publication Date

1999

doi

https://www.doi.org/10.2307/521932

Abstract

[This article examines the discourse of 'home' in two novels: The Story of Zahra by the Lebanese writer Hanan Al Shaikh and The Owner of The House by the Egyptian Latifa Al Zayyat. The patriarchal epistemological thought has defined the home as the private space of women; a definition that is not without its connotations: child-care, women's chastity, unpaid work, utter obedience to the husband, and finally, the complete denial of the individuality of the female self. Thus, home becomes a private space separated from the outside public space where policies are drawn and decisions are taken. The public space has become the site where knowledge is produced whereas the private space is denied this right; hence, the consolidation of a patriarchal power that adamantly ignores the female vision. According to this notion, Zahra and Samia-the protagonists of the two novels-were faced with an epistemological crisis which pushed them to reformulate the spatial boundaries. They managed to link the private space to the public space. The ruptured female self was not reconciled until it had assimilated the public sphere only to emerge as the New Woman.]

First Page

170

Last Page

184

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