Woman Between Marginalization and Resilience: A Reading in the Analysis of the Feminine Self in Faten Al-Jabri's Novel Autumn of Kalso

Abstract

This study presents a critical reading of the novel Autumn of Kalso by the novelist Faten Al-Jabri, a narrative work that reflects the social and political transformations experienced by Iraq after 2003, focusing on the portrayal of the feminine self amid these complex circumstances. The study aims to analyze how the novel embodies the conflict between marginalization and resilience faced by the Iraqi woman, and how she transforms from a mere victim to a conscious and resilient agent.

To achieve these objectives, the study relied on the analytical method, where it deconstructed the structure of the novel and its main and secondary female characters, such as Sarah, Jamila, the mother, and Raja, in order to explore multiple representations of the feminine self. The results of the analysis revealed that the novel does not present a stereotypical image of the woman, but rather portrays her as a complex entity engaged in internal and external struggles within a hostile environment. It also became evident that feminine resilience is not merely individual heroism, but a capacity for adaptation, resistance, and renewal, which makes the woman a bearer of the destroyed nation's memory, and at the same time, a seed of hope for the future.