Assia Djebar

Thus, in such case, postcolonial writers are thought of as agents who seek hardly to perpetuate the division of the globe that is governed by unfair and unjust power relations. The functionality of the colonizer’s language is considered as a form of affiliation and adherence to the western standards which implies hierarchy and gives acquiescence to the Western supremacy. The works of postcolonial/feminist writers should be positioned in the third space, to use Bhabha’s term, in where there is…

In another context, this time is comparing a working woman with another woman we find that the same perception is manifested, “go home and stay as long as you like. If there’s something for you to do I’ll send it along with your husband. At least you’re raising a family, not like that slut who turned you in!” Thus a woman’s honor and dignity often consist in her strict adherence to idealized norms of wifehood and motherhood, as they are associated the traditional roles of wife and mother to…

Said will help me present a rounded, unbiased view of his work within my dissertation. In this article, Mortimer discusses the work of Edward Said and the continuation of his concepts in the works of Algerian novelist Assia Djebar. He offers a contrapuntal reading of Said and Djebar, ultimately addressing the Maghrebian colonial experience which is an area which Said does not cover in Orientalism. This article is a valuable resource as it offers a critique of Said and deals with postcolonial…

In the same line of thought, Fatima Mernissi’ seminal work The forgotten Queens of Islam comes to confirm the important role of women throughout history. In which, she deals with the issue of women and sovereignty in Islam. The book introduces various stories of women throughout the Islamic history, Mernissi argues: Despite decrees from Mecca, opposition from the caliphs, and the opportunism of political men, 15 Muslim women sovereigns ascended the thrones of Muslim states…

other has to be oppressed. Isma is able to experience love and romance, while Hajila can only experience fear and abuse. By using “I” (Isma) and “you” (Hajila), Assia Djebar presents two drastically different women, but also Djebar relates herself to Isma and distances herself from Hajila. Isma is a liberated, modern woman (similar to Assia Djebar) while Hajila is oppressed, traditional woman. Additionally, sexual liberation and male attraction are linked with women’s freedom, as Isma parades…

language and voicing voices rather than voice, as she takes her readers in different journeys in the historical past. In So Vast the Prison, Djebar presents the various aspects of the Algerian past with its rich and different culture, backgrounds, ethnicities, and languages. In retelling the unmentioned stories of the minority groups in the official history, Djebar puts a big focus on the history of Berbers and their language as the native language. As she clearly addresses in the following…