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From Voiceless to Being Heard: Feminist Narrative Techniques in Iʻtirāfāt al-Ṭabībah
Abstract
The concept of voice symbolizes notions of power and authority within discourse, where the crafting of narratives is intricately intertwined with the generation of it. In her Confession of the Woman Doctor (Iʻtirāfāt al-Ṭabībah), Saudi Arabian female writer Qumāshah al-ʻAlyān employs dual rhetoric and overturns the narrative hegemony dominated by male writers throughout history. She combines internal focalization and first-person narratives with the personal voice in her story, adeptly employing narrative techniques to delve into the intricate psychology of a Saudi Arabian woman doctor who eventually committed suicide. Within Confession, al-ʻAlyān exposes the specific details of female vulnerability by manipulating the surface text, implicitly revealing a reliance on hegemonic discourse. Through flexible use of surface text and subtext, both within and outside the story, al-ʻAlyān achieves a hidden resistance in a way that is imperceptible yet more suitable to the Saudi Arabian context in regard to censorship and potential persecution. Confession, authored by a woman raised in a conservative family, draws inspiration from the legacy of female pioneers in the Guelf region, who have molded feminine identities through their literary works in the 21st century. It is fueled by the distinctive experiences of women, aimed at a broad female audience, and committed to fostering women’s liberation in Saudi Arabia. This paper analyzes the diverse narrative techniques employed by al-ʻAlyān from the perspective of narrators and narratees and argues that Confession embodies a manifestation of Hélène Cixous’s concept of “women’s writing.” Drawing upon feminist narratology and a variety of critical theories, this paper sheds light on how al-ʻAlyān skillfully facilitates the emergence of a novel discourse esoterically surrounding female authority and female subjectivity through mimicking patriarchal structures and creating parallax between different narratees within the context of writing.
Discipline
Literature
Geographic Area
Saudi Arabia
Sub Area
None