Manifestations of Feminist Thought in the Works of Assia Djebar

Abstract

Women have had a strong presence in the Arab novel, and as such, most writers have a particular outlook on them. Their portrayals of women are diverse and varied. However, women have attained the highest status in contemporary literature, enjoying a presence of varying levels. Writers have competed to portray them, and women have become a central theme embodying their suffering and concerns, using them as a symbol to express their various experiences. Algerian novelist Assia Djebar was one of the most prominent female novelists to emerge in the Arab world. It is noteworthy that she addressed the suffering of Arab women in Arab society, and Algerian society in particular, and made tremendous efforts to elevate women from their deteriorating reality in various cultural, educational, and livelihood fields. This article seeks to study feminist literature in its narrative output, identifying its most prominent objective features through a descriptive and analytical approach. The research concludes that feminist thought is frequently evident in her works and has dominated her artistic creativity, particularly in her novels "A Window of Patience" and "Love and Fantasy." The first novel advocated five main themes: women's independence and their pursuit of self-affirmation, the development of feminist and class consciousness, the critique of marriage as an authoritarian institution, the strengthening of the female voice, and the promotion of writing as an act of liberation. The novel "Love and Fantasy" addresses seven important points: the rejection of silence and female rebellion. It also promoted the language of the feminine "I," employed artistic language as a space for liberation, addressed the alienation of feminist identity and its linguistic alienation, promoted Arab mother culture, and dedicated free autobiographical writing and the liberation of the body from male authority. In general, its impact addressed the study of various women's roles, such as the role of women as historical victims of marginalization and silence, the role of women as actors in history and resistance, the role of women in relationships with society and men, the role of women as voices and creators, the role of women as guardians of collective memory, and the role of women as symbols of national identity.