Out of five characters that stay in Miramar, four get their own chapter. Zohra, the only woman who comes to stay at Miramar, does not get her own chapter. The absence of Zohra’s chapter is significant because it represents the status of women in post revolution Egypt in that they don’t get to voice their opinions. In addition, Zohra represents women in 1960s Egypt.
Every chapter is the viewpoint of one character staying in the pension. Each individual character represents a differing political ideology as well as social class. Each character's chapter recalls the events that took place at the pension through their own lenses, allowing us to understand four different viewpoints of the same story. Zohra, however, does not get her own chapter …show more content…
Zohra is a strong and independent woman, she holds her own as any man would. “I can stand up to them like a man, if it's called for.” However, even when Zohra tries to stand up for herself, the dominating male views take over. In regards to Zohra’s remark, Tolba states back “If you could stand up to them like a man,' he teased, 'then why did you run away?” Through these quotes we see that Tolba, who represents Egypt, does not regard Zohra as an equal, he shows his disagreement with her thoughts. Tolba believes, if a woman was truly equal to a man, she would not have had to run away. Tolba’s views represent the sexist societal views of 1960s Egypt. Tolba, like Egyptian society at the time, was ignorant to the inequalities faced by women. Tolba held Zohra to the same level as a men when examining her actions but failed to account for the disadvantages Zohra faced as a woman. If a man were to leave his family, he is free to do so, but a woman was seen as an object to be controlled by a man and had no such freedoms. If Tolba had left against his family's wishes, he would not have them wishing his death upon doing so as Zohra’s family
Every chapter is the viewpoint of one character staying in the pension. Each individual character represents a differing political ideology as well as social class. Each character's chapter recalls the events that took place at the pension through their own lenses, allowing us to understand four different viewpoints of the same story. Zohra, however, does not get her own chapter …show more content…
Zohra is a strong and independent woman, she holds her own as any man would. “I can stand up to them like a man, if it's called for.” However, even when Zohra tries to stand up for herself, the dominating male views take over. In regards to Zohra’s remark, Tolba states back “If you could stand up to them like a man,' he teased, 'then why did you run away?” Through these quotes we see that Tolba, who represents Egypt, does not regard Zohra as an equal, he shows his disagreement with her thoughts. Tolba believes, if a woman was truly equal to a man, she would not have had to run away. Tolba’s views represent the sexist societal views of 1960s Egypt. Tolba, like Egyptian society at the time, was ignorant to the inequalities faced by women. Tolba held Zohra to the same level as a men when examining her actions but failed to account for the disadvantages Zohra faced as a woman. If a man were to leave his family, he is free to do so, but a woman was seen as an object to be controlled by a man and had no such freedoms. If Tolba had left against his family's wishes, he would not have them wishing his death upon doing so as Zohra’s family