Between the Hammer and the Anvil:: Complex Status of Women in Contemporary Arab American Women’s Fiction

Ishak Berrebbah

doi:10.25167/exp13.21.9.3

Between the Hammer and the Anvil: Complex Status of Women in Contemporary Arab American Women’s Fiction

Ishak Berrebbah

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Abstract

This essay looks at the troubled representations and complex status of women in
Arab American fiction produced by women authors, namely Mohja Kahf’s The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf (2006) and Laila Halaby’s West of the Jordan (2003). I argue that Arab fiction in the US diaspora is not only about questioning the clash between the two cultures – Arab and American – in post-9/11, but also about shedding the light on women’s issues and concerns in both the diaspora and homeland. This particular ethnic fiction discusses sensitive topics in the Arab context such as traditional patriarchies, women’s rights in Islam, and domestic violence. The analysis of the novels, and the arguments that stem from it, are supported by a socio-cultural constructivist approach based on perspectives of prominent critics and scholars such as Fadia Faqir, Henri Tajfel, and Carol Fadda-Conrey, to name just a few.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	19-29
Number of pages	11
Journal	Explorations: A Journal of Language and Literature
Volume	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.25167/exp13.21.9.3
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2021

Bibliographical note

Authors of papers published in Explorations retain copyright in accordance with the provisions of Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence that allows the authors "to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format” as well as to "remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially” with proper acknowledgement of the paper’s authorship and initial publication with Explorations.

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10.25167/exp13.21.9.3Licence: CC BY

Berrebbah_Between_Hammer_AnvilFinal published version, 517 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Between the Hammer and the Anvil:: Complex Status of Women in Contemporary Arab American Women{\textquoteright}s Fiction",

abstract = "This essay looks at the troubled representations and complex status of women inArab American fiction produced by women authors, namely Mohja Kahf{\textquoteright}s The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf (2006) and Laila Halaby{\textquoteright}s West of the Jordan (2003). I argue that Arab fiction in the US diaspora is not only about questioning the clash between the two cultures – Arab and American – in post-9/11, but also about shedding the light on women{\textquoteright}s issues and concerns in both the diaspora and homeland. This particular ethnic fiction discusses sensitive topics in the Arab context such as traditional patriarchies, women{\textquoteright}s rights in Islam, and domestic violence. The analysis of the novels, and the arguments that stem from it, are supported by a socio-cultural constructivist approach based on perspectives of prominent critics and scholars such as Fadia Faqir, Henri Tajfel, and Carol Fadda-Conrey, to name just a few.",

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