Algerian Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that "Scheherazade Goes West" by Fatema Mernissi is the story of a woman facing her fears and releasing herself from her own form of prison. The author points out that "Children of the New World" by Assia Djebar is the story of women facing internal war with courage and strength during Algeria's release from her own prison--the imperial stranglehold of France--and into her own creation of another prison, the hierarchy of powerful rule and the increasing lack of freedom that this can bring. The paper relates that the domination of women in a harem and the domination of one country by another are not really that much different because both are forms of prison and aggression by one over another.

From the Paper:

"Mernissi's text compares the traditional harems of the East with Western life and thought, and shows how the West has created its own type of harem (or prison) for women. Most Westerners pride themselves on their openness, their freedom, and their lack of prejudice. However, Mernissi has discovered a different side of Western thought, and it is strikingly similar to the traditional Arab notion that women should be seen and not heard. Djebar's novel follows the lives of several women who live in the same small town during the fighting."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Djebar, Assia. Children of the New World: A Novel of the Algerian War. New York: The Feminist Press, 2005.
• Mernissi, Fatema. Scheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems. New York: Washington Square Press, 2001.

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• Comparison Essay # 6059 : "The Importance of Literature"
• Essay # 67771 : "World War II Literature"

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