This thesis traces the evolution of attitudes towards the body, desire, autobiography, and self-affirmation, in three novels of Assia Djebar: L'amour, la fantasia, Vaste est la prison, and Les nuits de Strasbourg. The three novels share a common trait: the narrators' will to express their body and their desires. This body, which is simultaneously anonymous and concealed, is at the very center of a contradiction; it is often relegated to representation as a ghost without any corporeal reality. It is been our objective to follow the narrators' introspective reflection on the multiple relationships between Algerian women and public space, designated as a masculin dominion controlled by the male gaze. The narrators move from a symbolic aphasia in L'amour, la fantasia, in which they are incapable of experiencing and expressing emotions to the definition of a private space of desire in Vaste est la prison, and ultimately, in Les nuits de Strasbourg, to the possibility of mastering space and time which they themselves define in their relationships to men. In order to subvert the patriarchal system, the narrators develop strategies of camouflage and disguise as means of manipulating the notion of the incorporeal feminine body. In this progression from passive to active invisibility, they render conscious the unconscious dimension of their attitude towards themselves and towards men. In the context of Algerian society, the presence of woman in the public space is unacceptable. The gesture of making public space accessible to women requires a collaboration between the newly conscious Algerian woman and a male partner who embraces both her and his evolved identity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-0522103-115259 |
| Date | 27 May 2003 |
| Creators | Rocca, Anna |
| Contributors | Pius Ngandu, Adelaide Russo, François Raffoul, Steve Beck, Joseph Ricapito |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-0522103-115259/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University Libraries in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. |
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