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The contemporary vs. the traditional

Posted by beth robertson on November 13, 2003 at 10:39:40:

Beth Robertson
Arab Woman’s Novelists
November 7, 2003
Professor Jiyad
The contemporary vs. the traditional

“The Arab woman shares with her sisters a common fate: a life of renunciation, of captivity, during which she will have to atone for her sin of having been born a woman in a hyper-male society where the ever-present feminine remains synonymous with shame and threat (Salman, 6).” ~Magida Salman

The four novels—Pillars of Salt, A Woman of Five Seasons, A Balcony over Fakihani, and Dreams of Trespass— depict the plight of being a woman in various regions across the Middle East. In reviewing these novels, I noticed an underlying theme, common to all four novels. A theme, which becomes significant to the shaping of the lives of the Arab families portrayed in these novels--contact with the colonial westernized world, and its affect on the individual. Although each woman dealt with the influence of westernization and/or the occupation of an imperial power differently, its mere presence affected, and was a stimulus for change in, the lives of each of the Arab women portrayed in these novels. In this essay I will discuss the depictions of the ‘traditional’ Arab woman, according to the characters of the women in the novels, the westernization of the Middle East, and the emergence of a modern Arab woman as a response to this westernization. There is no one universal depiction of an ‘Arab’ woman, on the contrary there are a myriad of characteristics and cultural experiences that culminate in producing her actualized western self, which is quite different from that of another Arab woman.

Section One: The "traditional" Arab woman

Despite the land delineation of the Middle East (a result of colonialism) that separated the fictional town of Barqais--Kuwait, the Bedouin hills of Trans-Jordan, the war ridden land of Beirut and the women in a Moroccan harem, the female characters of the novels all shared an understood concept of a traditionally ‘good’ Arab wife, that had been passed down from generation to generation by their mothers. Although each woman adheres to a slightly different interpretation of a “good” wife, all of the women know their role in society through the perpetuation of such tales of sexual hierarchy.

Pillars of Salt, a novel by Fadia Faqir, is set in Trans-Jordan during the early 1920’s. In her novel, Faqir presents the reader with two very different female characters—Maha, a woman from a Bedouin hill village, is a head strong, family oriented, “traditional” woman who receives love from both her father and her husband, and the character of Um Saad, a woman from the city of Amman, who lived a very strict, harsh life, without love or happiness from either her father or husband–who consequently meet in a mental hospital where they share their stories of life, lost loves and despair with each other. Although the women lived under very different circumstances, they both understood the expectations of a good wife.
Maha’s mother taught her the expectations of a traditionally respected Arab wife before she passed away. When Maha said yes to Harb’s proposal for marriage, she felt that she was to be bound to him for life, as was expected of any respectable Arab wife, according to Maha’s mother. “Yes I would sleep next to Harb every night of my life, yes; I would wash his cloak, cotton shirts and drawers. I would prepare a meal for him and see his sparkling golden tooth every day for the rest of my life (Faqir, 23).” Before Maha’s marriage to Harb, she performed the majority of the household duties on her family’s farm because her father was too old to work and her brother, Daffash, was pre-occupied with the pleasing the English Imperialists in the city of Amman. “Since I became a woman, father did not want me to work in the field because it was exhausting and shameful. A woman’s place was in a well-closed room. Yet he did not want me to stop working in the field either because I was the only one who took care of the young grove (Faquir, 20).” Thus Maha’s father also helped to formulate Maha’s concept of a traditional Arab woman. Although Maha’s marriage to Harb was based on love, this did not make her any less traditional; she exemplified the dutiful wife/daughter roles that she learned from her mother.

Um Saad illustrates the duties of a woman through her unrequited devotion to husband, a union that was the result of an {unconsensual}, devastating, marriage that was arranged by her father. “When Abu Saad returned from work, I used to place his feet in a bowl and wash them with soap and water. He was a butcher…his long black boots were always covered with blood and dung of sheep and goats. By your life, I used to spend hours scrubbing and cleaning to get rid of the clinging smell (Faquir, 121).” Although Um Saad resents her marriage to Abu Saad, she still pleases her husband by performing tasks that she feels are her duty as his wife. Both female characters of Faqir’s novel assimilate into the traditional feminine roles that they believe will continue their familial honor.

In A Woman of Five Seasons, Leila Al-Atrash, demonstrates the role of a traditional woman influenced by westernization through the relationship between Nadia and her husband Isthan. However, at the onset of her marriage to Isthan, Nadia allows Isthan to make decisions for her and does not object to Isthan's statements that sicken her. “My lovely kitten—this perfume suits you better….it made her feel ill when he called her his “kitten,” but nothing would stop him from doing it (Al-Atrash, 1/13).” Although Isthan’s pet names sicken Nadia, she cannot resist his wishes. At the time of their marriage, Nadia left everything that she had known and loved to be with Isthan, the brother, of the man Nadia really longed for. Contrary to Isthan who felt that education was not derived from books, but rather life experience, Jalal, Isthan’s brother, respected education and books as much as Nadia did. However, to be a good Arab wife, she forfeited her education to please Isthan and to raise their children. During the first year of their marriage, Nadia ceaselessly repeated the words that her mother had filled her mind with as a child, “Fall in with everything he commands (Al-Atrash, 96).” Thus Nadia strove to be this traditional good wife until she was struck by westernization.

In her novel Balcony of the Fakihani, Liyana Badr joins Al-Atrash and Faqir in describing the roles of a traditional Arab woman through the characters in her novel. Su’ad, a new wife was consumed with trying to please her husband at her home in Beirut. “During the day they all went out, and I was left alone. I’d take a book and read a page or two, then jump up unable to concentrate…I’d fill in the hours by dusting and devising unnecessary cleaning jobs in the apartment (Badr, 40).”

All of the women in the fore-mentioned novels were socialized into a culture where Salman’s “life of renunciation, and captivity” was commonplace and understood as normative behavior. With the exception of Um Saad, the characters of the novels, Maha, Nadia, and Su’ad did not undergo physical discipline on behalf of their husbands/fathers. At the onset of their marriages, all the women were very accommodating to their husbands, trying to fulfill the role of an obedient wife that was so embedded in the cultures in which they resided. From these novels it can be inferred that the positionality and socialization of females into these predetermined social roles is culturally relative, this is to say that the mentioned subservience of women to men in these book does not necessarily describe all Middle Eastern women. However, the females of these novels held a lower social position than the males in their Middle Eastern villages/cities. This inferiority enabled the role of an obedient, subservient, traditional Arab wife to emerge and become a perpetuated characteristic that has been passed through the female lineage from generation to generation in the Middle Eastern Societies described in the novels.

SECTION 2: Westernization in the Arab World

Due to the presence of westernization, throughout A Woman of Five Seasons, a constant process of evolution was occurring within the lives of the characters of the novel. As children, and in the beginning of their union as husband and wife, Nadia and Isthan were unaffected by the presence of westernization. However, over time western influence and the idea of a progressive society began to creep into Barqais—Kuwait. Throughout the course of this novel the reader sees Nadia, initially a “traditional” Arab woman, evolve from the subservient wife that her mother insisted she become, into a controlling wife, who eventually, with the help of westernization, comes to dominate her own husband. Isthan’s limitless thirst to acquire wealth, power and influence facilitates Nadia’s eventual marital dominance and catalyzes Isthan’s subsequent demise.

Since Isthan was a young boy he wanted to become rich like his successful brother-in-law, Farrish. Thus, he committed himself to becoming a wealthy man, regardless of its repercussions. Isthan involved himself in illegal trade operations under the name of the JANA trading company. JANA, a “car trading company”, was a cover for his illegal arms smuggling operation. It was a lucrative profession, that made Isthan and Nadia very wealthy, but it inevitably foreshadowed the eventual demise of both his family and his good name. Isthan perpetually promised Nadia material items, symbols of wealth, to prove his success to both himself and Nadia, “if I really make it, I’ll cover you in diamonds, right down to the soles of your feet (Al-Atrash, 13).” However, Nadia never wanted these luxuries, or symbols of wealth. She wanted someone to share her intellectual fervor with, mainly her beloved and unattainable brother-in-law Jalal. As Isthan became wealthier, Nadia became increasingly more independent which; Isthan eventually was forced to subscribe to.

In the relationship between Nadia and Isthan, westernization and the Isthan’s desire to have future filled with wealth and influence tainted the prospects for a traditional marriage between Nadia and himself. Instead of participating in the local economy of Barqais, Isthan largely participated in business at the international level, in which traveling to western countries was required, which distorted traditional ideals of a hierarchical marriage and thus altered the attainability of a “traditional” Arab wife for Nadia. To gain wealth and influence, both Nadia and Isthan had to subscribe to the affairs of the affluent, social, westernized society.

In Dreams of Trespass, author Fatima Mernissi describes her childhood and coming of age in a harem in Fez, Morocco. While growing up Fatima’s mother and grandmother ceaselessly coached her on how to attain theoretical freedom with in the walled harem. Fatima’s mother and grandmother Yasmina, were large contributors to her ‘freedom’ by providing Fatima with an education, filling her head will ideals of equality, and insisting on a future for Fatima outside the confines of the Harem.

“Of course you will be happy! You will be a modern educated lady. You will realize the nationalist’s dreams. You will learn foreign languages, have a passport, and speak like religious authority…as illiterate and bound by tradition as I am; I have managed to squeeze some happiness out of this dammed life. That is why I don’t want you to focus on barriers and frontiers all the time. I want you to concentrate on fun and laughter and happiness. That is a good project for an ambitious lady (Mernissi, 64).”

A future filled with passports, education, and happiness is not what a ‘traditional’ Arab woman, according to the previously described definitions by the female characters in the novels, is accustomed to filling her future with. Fatima’s access to novels, education, and the progressive western world that her mother and father are preparing her for has enabled her to foresee herself as an educated woman.

To express Fatima’s desire for equality and recognition in the stagnant traditional Arab world her mother insisted that Fatima wear western clothing.

“Mother always insisted on dressing me in the latest western fashions—short, fluffy lace dresses with colored ribbons and shiny black shoes…I would beg her to let me wear my comfortable little sarwal..” she would say “If you plan to be modern, express it through what you wear, otherwise they will shove you behind the gates. I therefore began to associate Western dress with pragmatic calculations (Mernissi, 85).”

In this Moroccan harem, westernization, for Fatima and her family, meant escaping a seemingly inescapable life style of containment and bounded hudud (frontiers).

In Pillars of Salt the mere presence of a western power changed both Maha’s biological and nuclear family. Due to the English occupation in Jordan, Maha suffered the loss of her husband who died fighting their attempts for foreign rule and her brother, Daffash, a proud English supporter, whose contact with the westerners mentally changed his ability to be a contributing member of Maha’s Bedouin family, as was expected of a son. Both losses were devastating for different reasons.

Daffash, Maha’s brother, was never around help her aging father run the family farm, as was expected of him, because he was always in Amman becoming an Arab puppet employed by the exploitive British occupation. Thus his familial responsibilities fell on Maha. The English told Daffash that he was “an open minded Arab. Not too many of them around (Faqir, 41).” This only urged Daffash to participate more in their occupation. He acquired a taste for material items, such as the land rover that he drove, that were not available in his Bedouin village. When Daffash was around the family farm he was very demanding and often-threatened Maha, but in no way participated in the family, on the contrary he only complained about the ragged state of the farm. Thus Maha and her father despised him for abandoning the farm, his responsibilities and threatening them.

“Fathers misery was just one person, one word, Daffash. He wanted a good son. A peasant capable of digging his hands into the soil and transforming that piece of land into a green orchard. Allah gave him a womanizer and a city-worshiper. He wanted to modernize the farm. He would hit with one hand and apply medication with the other (Faqir, 21).”

Daffash’s obsession with modernization was of no use to the Bedouin family. The oldest son and his responsibilities were wasted in a city worshipper. Maha had to make up for Daffash’s absence by farming the land herself because her father was too old. This is one way in which the presence of Westernization changed Maha’s life.

Secondly, Maha had a love marriage to Harb the “twin of her soul”. He was a very loving husband who cherished her even though she could not get pregnant, which is rare because pregnancy is a sign of womanhood, and a barren woman is not worthy of a man. Harb also loved his country and was committed to defending it against foreign rule, thus he devoted his life to ridding Jordan of English occupation. While he was in the mountains, Harb met his death when a “huge bird of prey made of metal roared over and pushed it nose down searching, the huge bird of prey dropped a metal egg. A huge explosion shook the area…and split open the bodies of men, exposing their entrails (Faqir, 115).” The westernization and tools of the technology that the British employed forever changed Maha’s life. She was left widowed by the very people that her brother worshipped. This caused a rift in her family between Daffash and herself that was never to be mended. Maha resented Daffash for siding with the “foreign murders” that killed her beloved husband and ruined her prospect of a peaceful and happy life.
The direct and indirect influence of westernization on the lives of the characters from these novels forever changed their understanding of the traditional Arab self into one that was directly influenced by the western world. Westernization initiated the emergence of a “modern” Arab woman. However, there is no universal understanding of this modern Arab woman. It is solely dependant on each woman’s contact with westernization, her reaction to her contact with western ideals and the positive/negative effect they have on her. For Nadia, westernization was a burden that she was forced to bear, consequently enabling her to have a degree of independence. To Fatima, westernization was a symbol of freedom, and escape from the confines of the harem she grew up in. Conversely, for Maha, Westernization deprived her of her husband to accompany her in old age and denied her a chance to lead a traditional Arab woman’s life. She was saddled with her pre-occupied brother’s chores as well as her own. Thus western influence, however great or small in each woman’s story, was a catalyst for change that the women were left to assimilate into.

SECTION 3: The modern Arab woman—a response to westernization

Change, resulting from westernization and its penetration into the established ‘traditional’ ideology of the Middle Eastern society, occurred in the lives of each of the female characters depicted in the fore mentioned novels. This change, whether forced or not, marked the evolution of a once traditional woman into a woman largely influenced by westernization. Some of the women, following their contact with westerners, rebelled against its presence by continuing the subservience taught by their mothers, while others deviated from the ideals of a traditional Arab woman and assimilated into a positions of dominance and westernized thought. The results of contact with westernization for these women are wide spread, and diverse.

At the onset of her marriage to Isthan, Nadia was a subservient wife, allowing her husband to make choices for her and to dictate her actions. “On the third day after our marriage, Isthan happened to spill the contents of my suitcase…most of my things were rose-red, my favorite color. ‘I don’t like rose-red’ he said. ‘I don’t want you to wear it.’ ‘But it’s my favorite color.’ ‘Well, I hate it. Don’t you wear things to please me (Al-Atrash, 96)?’” This subservience did not last long between the newlyweds. With increased interaction with the western world, Nadia’s “fifth” season, as the title indicates, the season of a powerful woman, begins to blossom. She becomes a strong, assertive individual who refuses to allow her husband to have any bearing on the decisions that she makes, in essence mimicking the fervent, self-assured actions of the western women.

The emergence of this ‘fifth season’ is apparent in the steps that Nadia takes to gain independence within her marriage. Her first step toward westernization was signified by the demands she made on Isthan for both gold and land. Secondly, her interest in learning to drive which allowed her to gain independence, because she was no longer dependant on Isthan to take her places. She also defies Isthan’s wishes by making him go shopping with her to buy ruby-red clothing, which she knows he dislikes. Finally, she convinces Isthan to open a bank account in her name so that she can buy what ever she wants; reluctantly he does so. Every time Isthan concedes to Nadia’s wishes, she gains increased independence. Nadia’s contact with the progressive western society enabled her to be ignorant of her husband’s wishes and thus emerge a “modern” Arab woman.

Nadia understands the increased agency that is allotted to anyone who assimilates into western society; this is the very independence that she has been looking to acquire. Thus, it is not difficult for her to discard her mother’s idea of a ‘traditional’ Arab wife, one that she too formerly supported, and instead assimilate into the characteristics of an independent and assertive Arab woman, influenced by the westernization. Her understandings of a westernized woman are gleaned from her contact with western women, while in London. Jessica, a woman who works in Isthan’s office, befriends her and teaches her how to be an independent woman. “She (Nadia) listened with obvious passion as Jessica talked about her real estate office, her beloved friend, her school days in Geneva, and her job in London. She was clever without ostentation, and Nadia, listening in rapt admiration then bombarding her with questions, gave you no chance to change the subject (Al-Atrash, 114).” Jessica’s intellectual fervor and stories of success fascinated Nadia and made her yearn to live such a life as well.
Nadia’s evolution into a modern Arab woman was based on her unavoidable contact with the western world, because of Isthan’s monetary conquests. Although she had power over Isthan, she was still very unhappy. Nothing had the ability to rectify her forfeited education, her love of art, and Jalal, her perfect match. Nadia was only happy if Isthan disagreed with her choices, this was a result of her westernization. Isthan’s disapproval of Nadia’s choices signified her independence and liberty to make decisions for herself, like Jessica was able to do as a western woman.

This dynamic evolution, due to contact with westernized principals, was also addressed in Pillars of Salt. Maha was affected by westernization by force not by choice. Maha’s evolution into the status of a modern Arab woman can be seen through her relationships with her brother and her husband and the effect it had on her is devastating.

For Maha, westernization was a burden that seemingly plagued her entire life. It was evident in her youth, in her marriage, through her husband’s commitment to ending foreign rule in Jordan, through the death of her husband and her brother’s continued interactions with the English. Maha could not escape the grip of westernization, even thought she lived in a small Bedouin hill town, it influence on her life was omnipresent and inescapable. Thus she was forced to adapt to the position that westernization played in her life. However, westernization did not have the same effect on Maha as it did on Nadia. Maha had no desire to assimilate to the ridiculous, ways of those who “murdered the twin of her soul (Faqir, 7).”
“They were women and I was a woman too, but they were so different. One was wearing a tight dress with a wide, shamefully short skirt…every part of the woman’s body was revealed by the light material. I felt like heating some water and washing the colors off their faces. The shame of it! These women were not shy of showing their bodies off to gazing men (Faqir, 33).”

She only wished to repay them for the frustration and loss they had afflicted her with. After Harb’s death, Daffash had asked Maha to cook for the party of one of his friends. He did not tell Maha that she was to be cooking for the English because he knew that this would upset her. Thus she willingly agreed to cook to make extra money. At the party, Maha was directly forced to confront westernization and the hold that it had on her life.

“Blonde hair and grand uniforms flocked into the well lit garden. I had a glimpse of gold eagles decorating their chests. My hands started shaking. The mountains. Harb’s body sliced into two halves like the mutton I was cooking. I asked ‘who are these people?” he said ‘Our Masters, the English.’ I did not know I was cooking for the English; I kicked the pot over and went into the front yard where the officers were. ‘You killed my husband Harb.’ I stepped forward and wrenched the eagles off the chest of an elderly man, threw it on the ground and stamped on it. I collected as much saliva as I could and spat on the surprised face of the English officer. ‘Foreign killers, all of you.’ I cried (Faqir, 161-62).”

Maha’s reaction the presence of westerners was to revolt against their occupation. She had no tolerance for those who killed her husband and robbed her of her brother, who now was just an ignorant puppet of the English. Maha had no choice but to confront westernization because it confronted her. However, she did not welcome this ‘independence’ as Nadia had. Faced with ever-present westernization, Maha was forced to assimilate into the role of a modern Arab woman. She was forced to exhibit her self-sufficiency after the death of her martyr husband to combat her own brother who had become an English loyalist despite the murder of his brother-in-law. Maha became an assertive, self-sufficient, and strong advocate against British occupation as a result of her contact with westernization. Thus emerged a modern Arab woman, devoutly against western rule.

Both Nadia and Maha confronted westernization, and were affected in different ways. For Nadia, assimilating into the role of a westernized woman meant access to an independence that she otherwise would not have had. It provided her with the opportunity to explore her interests and to acquire an opportunity to be accepted as an equal in a hyper-male world. In many ways, Daffash, Maha’s brother, saw westernization like Nadia did, as a source of independence and opportunity. On the contrary, to Maha westernization symbolized unwanted change that was the force behind her husband’s death. She did not feel the same independence that Nadia felt. Instead she felt that westernization was an uncontrollable force that was compelling its beliefs and ideals on her traditional community, in which if you did not willingly assimilate it would do so for you, by force.

CONCLUSION:

The aforementioned novels—Pillars of Salt, A Woman of Five Seasons, A Balcony over Fakihani, and Dreams of Trespass— depicted the evolution of women in the Arab Middle East. Through personal narrative and fictional accounts, the reader was able to have a glimpse of the effect that the presence of Westernization had on the lives of the women of these novels. Although each woman dealt with the influence of westernization and/or the occupation of an imperial power differently, its mere presence affected and was a stimulus for change in the lives of each of the Arab women portrayed in these novels. It was during this period of imperial occupation that the traditional concepts of womanhood, which had been passed down in families for generations, began to become altered with increased and prolonged exposure to westernized ideology. This is not to say that every woman was affected by westernization in the Middle East. However, there was not a universal reaction for those who were affected by the omnipresence of westernization. Nadia embraced westernization and grew with it; Maha rejected the occupation of any faction of foreign rule and thus resisted conforming to western principals; and Fatima, due to the insistence of her mother, embraced westernization as a means of escaping the confines of the harem. Each woman, due to her own experiences chose to or not to assimilate to the principals of westernization, but nonetheless were affected by its mere presence and the changes it catalyzed in their traditional society.

AFTERWORD: my view of novel sequencing

I felt like the books--Pillars of Salt, A Woman of Five Seasons, A Balcony over Fakihani, and Dreams of Trespass—were read in a purposeful progression; from those containing the most traditional concepts of an Arab woman (in Pillars of Salt) to the most progressive images of westernization and the quest to become a westernized Arab woman (in Dreams of Trespass). Pillars of salt—Maha is traditional woman who tries to follow all the expectations of the traditional Arab woman, as distinguished by her mother, to make her family proud. A woman of five seasons—Nadia, in the beginning of her relationship with Ishtan is a “traditional” wife, but as Isthan becomes increasingly influenced by westernization, Nadia becomes more independent and thus more westernized. Balcony over Fakihani—Although Su’ad is a traditional wife, her husband is largely influenced by a western woman while he is receiving medical treatment in London. In Land of Rock and Thyme, Yasura and her family are also largely affected by westernization through the use of powerful weapons, which kill two of her family members and friends during an uprising in Palestine in the 70’s. She has no control over the senseless use of these weapons on innocent persons and is thus forced to subscribe to a way of life in which surviving, forgiving and forgetting is key. Lastly, Dreams of Trespass—is by far the most progressive novel. Fatima’s mother wanted her daughter at a young age to assimilate into the persona of a western woman to escape the bounded life that she had experienced in the Moroccan Harem. Thus her mother dresses Fatima in western clothing in hopes to allow her increased permeability and acceptance by the western community.

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Comments:
: Beth Robertson : Arab Woman’s Novelists : November 7, 2003 : Professor Jiyad : The contemporary vs. the traditional : “The Arab woman shares with her sisters a common fate: a life of renunciation, of captivity, during which she will have to atone for her sin of having been born a woman in a hyper-male society where the ever-present feminine remains synonymous with shame and threat (Salman, 6).” ~Magida Salman : The four novels—Pillars of Salt, A Woman of Five Seasons, A Balcony over Fakihani, and Dreams of Trespass— depict the plight of being a woman in various regions across the Middle East. In reviewing these novels, I noticed an underlying theme, common to all four novels. A theme, which becomes significant to the shaping of the lives of the Arab families portrayed in these novels--contact with the colonial westernized world, and its affect on the individual. Although each woman dealt with the influence of westernization and/or the occupation of an imperial power differently, its mere presence affected, and was a stimulus for change in, the lives of each of the Arab women portrayed in these novels. In this essay I will discuss the depictions of the ‘traditional’ Arab woman, according to the characters of the women in the novels, the westernization of the Middle East, and the emergence of a modern Arab woman as a response to this westernization. There is no one universal depiction of an ‘Arab’ woman, on the contrary there are a myriad of characteristics and cultural experiences that culminate in producing her actualized western self, which is quite different from that of another Arab woman. : Section One: The "traditional" Arab woman : Despite the land delineation of the Middle East (a result of colonialism) that separated the fictional town of Barqais--Kuwait, the Bedouin hills of Trans-Jordan, the war ridden land of Beirut and the women in a Moroccan harem, the female characters of the novels all shared an understood concept of a traditionally ‘good’ Arab wife, that had been passed down from generation to generation by their mothers. Although each woman adheres to a slightly different interpretation of a “good” wife, all of the women know their role in society through the perpetuation of such tales of sexual hierarchy. : Pillars of Salt, a novel by Fadia Faqir, is set in Trans-Jordan during the early 1920’s. In her novel, Faqir presents the reader with two very different female characters—Maha, a woman from a Bedouin hill village, is a head strong, family oriented, “traditional” woman who receives love from both her father and her husband, and the character of Um Saad, a woman from the city of Amman, who lived a very strict, harsh life, without love or happiness from either her father or husband–who consequently meet in a mental hospital where they share their stories of life, lost loves and despair with each other. Although the women lived under very different circumstances, they both understood the expectations of a good wife. : Maha’s mother taught her the expectations of a traditionally respected Arab wife before she passed away. When Maha said yes to Harb’s proposal for marriage, she felt that she was to be bound to him for life, as was expected of any respectable Arab wife, according to Maha’s mother. “Yes I would sleep next to Harb every night of my life, yes; I would wash his cloak, cotton shirts and drawers. I would prepare a meal for him and see his sparkling golden tooth every day for the rest of my life (Faqir, 23).” Before Maha’s marriage to Harb, she performed the majority of the household duties on her family’s farm because her father was too old to work and her brother, Daffash, was pre-occupied with the pleasing the English Imperialists in the city of Amman. “Since I became a woman, father did not want me to work in the field because it was exhausting and shameful. A woman’s place was in a well-closed room. Yet he did not want me to stop working in the field either because I was the only one who took care of the young grove (Faquir, 20).” Thus Maha’s father also helped to formulate Maha’s concept of a traditional Arab woman. Although Maha’s marriage to Harb was based on love, this did not make her any less traditional; she exemplified the dutiful wife/daughter roles that she learned from her mother. : Um Saad illustrates the duties of a woman through her unrequited devotion to husband, a union that was the result of an {unconsensual}, devastating, marriage that was arranged by her father. “When Abu Saad returned from work, I used to place his feet in a bowl and wash them with soap and water. He was a butcher…his long black boots were always covered with blood and dung of sheep and goats. By your life, I used to spend hours scrubbing and cleaning to get rid of the clinging smell (Faquir, 121).” Although Um Saad resents her marriage to Abu Saad, she still pleases her husband by performing tasks that she feels are her duty as his wife. Both female characters of Faqir’s novel assimilate into the traditional feminine roles that they believe will continue their familial honor. : In A Woman of Five Seasons, Leila Al-Atrash, demonstrates the role of a traditional woman influenced by westernization through the relationship between Nadia and her husband Isthan. However, at the onset of her marriage to Isthan, Nadia allows Isthan to make decisions for her and does not object to Isthan's statements that sicken her. “My lovely kitten—this perfume suits you better….it made her feel ill when he called her his “kitten,” but nothing would stop him from doing it (Al-Atrash, 1/13).” Although Isthan’s pet names sicken Nadia, she cannot resist his wishes. At the time of their marriage, Nadia left everything that she had known and loved to be with Isthan, the brother, of the man Nadia really longed for. Contrary to Isthan who felt that education was not derived from books, but rather life experience, Jalal, Isthan’s brother, respected education and books as much as Nadia did. However, to be a good Arab wife, she forfeited her education to please Isthan and to raise their children. During the first year of their marriage, Nadia ceaselessly repeated the words that her mother had filled her mind with as a child, “Fall in with everything he commands (Al-Atrash, 96).” Thus Nadia strove to be this traditional good wife until she was struck by westernization. : In her novel Balcony of the Fakihani, Liyana Badr joins Al-Atrash and Faqir in describing the roles of a traditional Arab woman through the characters in her novel. Su’ad, a new wife was consumed with trying to please her husband at her home in Beirut. “During the day they all went out, and I was left alone. I’d take a book and read a page or two, then jump up unable to concentrate…I’d fill in the hours by dusting and devising unnecessary cleaning jobs in the apartment (Badr, 40).” : All of the women in the fore-mentioned novels were socialized into a culture where Salman’s “life of renunciation, and captivity” was commonplace and understood as normative behavior. With the exception of Um Saad, the characters of the novels, Maha, Nadia, and Su’ad did not undergo physical discipline on behalf of their husbands/fathers. At the onset of their marriages, all the women were very accommodating to their husbands, trying to fulfill the role of an obedient wife that was so embedded in the cultures in which they resided. From these novels it can be inferred that the positionality and socialization of females into these predetermined social roles is culturally relative, this is to say that the mentioned subservience of women to men in these book does not necessarily describe all Middle Eastern women. However, the females of these novels held a lower social position than the males in their Middle Eastern villages/cities. This inferiority enabled the role of an obedient, subservient, traditional Arab wife to emerge and become a perpetuated characteristic that has been passed through the female lineage from generation to generation in the Middle Eastern Societies described in the novels. : : SECTION 2: Westernization in the Arab World : : Due to the presence of westernization, throughout A Woman of Five Seasons, a constant process of evolution was occurring within the lives of the characters of the novel. As children, and in the beginning of their union as husband and wife, Nadia and Isthan were unaffected by the presence of westernization. However, over time western influence and the idea of a progressive society began to creep into Barqais—Kuwait. Throughout the course of this novel the reader sees Nadia, initially a “traditional” Arab woman, evolve from the subservient wife that her mother insisted she become, into a controlling wife, who eventually, with the help of westernization, comes to dominate her own husband. Isthan’s limitless thirst to acquire wealth, power and influence facilitates Nadia’s eventual marital dominance and catalyzes Isthan’s subsequent demise. : Since Isthan was a young boy he wanted to become rich like his successful brother-in-law, Farrish. Thus, he committed himself to becoming a wealthy man, regardless of its repercussions. Isthan involved himself in illegal trade operations under the name of the JANA trading company. JANA, a “car trading company”, was a cover for his illegal arms smuggling operation. It was a lucrative profession, that made Isthan and Nadia very wealthy, but it inevitably foreshadowed the eventual demise of both his family and his good name. Isthan perpetually promised Nadia material items, symbols of wealth, to prove his success to both himself and Nadia, “if I really make it, I’ll cover you in diamonds, right down to the soles of your feet (Al-Atrash, 13).” However, Nadia never wanted these luxuries, or symbols of wealth. She wanted someone to share her intellectual fervor with, mainly her beloved and unattainable brother-in-law Jalal. As Isthan became wealthier, Nadia became increasingly more independent which; Isthan eventually was forced to subscribe to. : In the relationship between Nadia and Isthan, westernization and the Isthan’s desire to have future filled with wealth and influence tainted the prospects for a traditional marriage between Nadia and himself. Instead of participating in the local economy of Barqais, Isthan largely participated in business at the international level, in which traveling to western countries was required, which distorted traditional ideals of a hierarchical marriage and thus altered the attainability of a “traditional” Arab wife for Nadia. To gain wealth and influence, both Nadia and Isthan had to subscribe to the affairs of the affluent, social, westernized society. : In Dreams of Trespass, author Fatima Mernissi describes her childhood and coming of age in a harem in Fez, Morocco. While growing up Fatima’s mother and grandmother ceaselessly coached her on how to attain theoretical freedom with in the walled harem. Fatima’s mother and grandmother Yasmina, were large contributors to her ‘freedom’ by providing Fatima with an education, filling her head will ideals of equality, and insisting on a future for Fatima outside the confines of the Harem. : “Of course you will be happy! You will be a modern educated lady. You will realize the nationalist’s dreams. You will learn foreign languages, have a passport, and speak like religious authority…as illiterate and bound by tradition as I am; I have managed to squeeze some happiness out of this dammed life. That is why I don’t want you to focus on barriers and frontiers all the time. I want you to concentrate on fun and laughter and happiness. That is a good project for an ambitious lady (Mernissi, 64).” : A future filled with passports, education, and happiness is not what a ‘traditional’ Arab woman, according to the previously described definitions by the female characters in the novels, is accustomed to filling her future with. Fatima’s access to novels, education, and the progressive western world that her mother and father are preparing her for has enabled her to foresee herself as an educated woman. : To express Fatima’s desire for equality and recognition in the stagnant traditional Arab world her mother insisted that Fatima wear western clothing. : “Mother always insisted on dressing me in the latest western fashions—short, fluffy lace dresses with colored ribbons and shiny black shoes…I would beg her to let me wear my comfortable little sarwal..” she would say “If you plan to be modern, express it through what you wear, otherwise they will shove you behind the gates. I therefore began to associate Western dress with pragmatic calculations (Mernissi, 85).” : In this Moroccan harem, westernization, for Fatima and her family, meant escaping a seemingly inescapable life style of containment and bounded hudud (frontiers). : In Pillars of Salt the mere presence of a western power changed both Maha’s biological and nuclear family. Due to the English occupation in Jordan, Maha suffered the loss of her husband who died fighting their attempts for foreign rule and her brother, Daffash, a proud English supporter, whose contact with the westerners mentally changed his ability to be a contributing member of Maha’s Bedouin family, as was expected of a son. Both losses were devastating for different reasons. : Daffash, Maha’s brother, was never around help her aging father run the family farm, as was expected of him, because he was always in Amman becoming an Arab puppet employed by the exploitive British occupation. Thus his familial responsibilities fell on Maha. The English told Daffash that he was “an open minded Arab. Not too many of them around (Faqir, 41).” This only urged Daffash to participate more in their occupation. He acquired a taste for material items, such as the land rover that he drove, that were not available in his Bedouin village. When Daffash was around the family farm he was very demanding and often-threatened Maha, but in no way participated in the family, on the contrary he only complained about the ragged state of the farm. Thus Maha and her father despised him for abandoning the farm, his responsibilities and threatening them. : “Fathers misery was just one person, one word, Daffash. He wanted a good son. A peasant capable of digging his hands into the soil and transforming that piece of land into a green orchard. Allah gave him a womanizer and a city-worshiper. He wanted to modernize the farm. He would hit with one hand and apply medication with the other (Faqir, 21).” : Daffash’s obsession with modernization was of no use to the Bedouin family. The oldest son and his responsibilities were wasted in a city worshipper. Maha had to make up for Daffash’s absence by farming the land herself because her father was too old. This is one way in which the presence of Westernization changed Maha’s life. : Secondly, Maha had a love marriage to Harb the “twin of her soul”. He was a very loving husband who cherished her even though she could not get pregnant, which is rare because pregnancy is a sign of womanhood, and a barren woman is not worthy of a man. Harb also loved his country and was committed to defending it against foreign rule, thus he devoted his life to ridding Jordan of English occupation. While he was in the mountains, Harb met his death when a “huge bird of prey made of metal roared over and pushed it nose down searching, the huge bird of prey dropped a metal egg. A huge explosion shook the area…and split open the bodies of men, exposing their entrails (Faqir, 115).” The westernization and tools of the technology that the British employed forever changed Maha’s life. She was left widowed by the very people that her brother worshipped. This caused a rift in her family between Daffash and herself that was never to be mended. Maha resented Daffash for siding with the “foreign murders” that killed her beloved husband and ruined her prospect of a peaceful and happy life. : The direct and indirect influence of westernization on the lives of the characters from these novels forever changed their understanding of the traditional Arab self into one that was directly influenced by the western world. Westernization initiated the emergence of a “modern” Arab woman. However, there is no universal understanding of this modern Arab woman. It is solely dependant on each woman’s contact with westernization, her reaction to her contact with western ideals and the positive/negative effect they have on her. For Nadia, westernization was a burden that she was forced to bear, consequently enabling her to have a degree of independence. To Fatima, westernization was a symbol of freedom, and escape from the confines of the harem she grew up in. Conversely, for Maha, Westernization deprived her of her husband to accompany her in old age and denied her a chance to lead a traditional Arab woman’s life. She was saddled with her pre-occupied brother’s chores as well as her own. Thus western influence, however great or small in each woman’s story, was a catalyst for change that the women were left to assimilate into. : SECTION 3: The modern Arab woman—a response to westernization : Change, resulting from westernization and its penetration into the established ‘traditional’ ideology of the Middle Eastern society, occurred in the lives of each of the female characters depicted in the fore mentioned novels. This change, whether forced or not, marked the evolution of a once traditional woman into a woman largely influenced by westernization. Some of the women, following their contact with westerners, rebelled against its presence by continuing the subservience taught by their mothers, while others deviated from the ideals of a traditional Arab woman and assimilated into a positions of dominance and westernized thought. The results of contact with westernization for these women are wide spread, and diverse. : At the onset of her marriage to Isthan, Nadia was a subservient wife, allowing her husband to make choices for her and to dictate her actions. “On the third day after our marriage, Isthan happened to spill the contents of my suitcase…most of my things were rose-red, my favorite color. ‘I don’t like rose-red’ he said. ‘I don’t want you to wear it.’ ‘But it’s my favorite color.’ ‘Well, I hate it. Don’t you wear things to please me (Al-Atrash, 96)?’” This subservience did not last long between the newlyweds. With increased interaction with the western world, Nadia’s “fifth” season, as the title indicates, the season of a powerful woman, begins to blossom. She becomes a strong, assertive individual who refuses to allow her husband to have any bearing on the decisions that she makes, in essence mimicking the fervent, self-assured actions of the western women. : The emergence of this ‘fifth season’ is apparent in the steps that Nadia takes to gain independence within her marriage. Her first step toward westernization was signified by the demands she made on Isthan for both gold and land. Secondly, her interest in learning to drive which allowed her to gain independence, because she was no longer dependant on Isthan to take her places. She also defies Isthan’s wishes by making him go shopping with her to buy ruby-red clothing, which she knows he dislikes. Finally, she convinces Isthan to open a bank account in her name so that she can buy what ever she wants; reluctantly he does so. Every time Isthan concedes to Nadia’s wishes, she gains increased independence. Nadia’s contact with the progressive western society enabled her to be ignorant of her husband’s wishes and thus emerge a “modern” Arab woman. : Nadia understands the increased agency that is allotted to anyone who assimilates into western society; this is the very independence that she has been looking to acquire. Thus, it is not difficult for her to discard her mother’s idea of a ‘traditional’ Arab wife, one that she too formerly supported, and instead assimilate into the characteristics of an independent and assertive Arab woman, influenced by the westernization. Her understandings of a westernized woman are gleaned from her contact with western women, while in London. Jessica, a woman who works in Isthan’s office, befriends her and teaches her how to be an independent woman. “She (Nadia) listened with obvious passion as Jessica talked about her real estate office, her beloved friend, her school days in Geneva, and her job in London. She was clever without ostentation, and Nadia, listening in rapt admiration then bombarding her with questions, gave you no chance to change the subject (Al-Atrash, 114).” Jessica’s intellectual fervor and stories of success fascinated Nadia and made her yearn to live such a life as well. : Nadia’s evolution into a modern Arab woman was based on her unavoidable contact with the western world, because of Isthan’s monetary conquests. Although she had power over Isthan, she was still very unhappy. Nothing had the ability to rectify her forfeited education, her love of art, and Jalal, her perfect match. Nadia was only happy if Isthan disagreed with her choices, this was a result of her westernization. Isthan’s disapproval of Nadia’s choices signified her independence and liberty to make decisions for herself, like Jessica was able to do as a western woman. : : This dynamic evolution, due to contact with westernized principals, was also addressed in Pillars of Salt. Maha was affected by westernization by force not by choice. Maha’s evolution into the status of a modern Arab woman can be seen through her relationships with her brother and her husband and the effect it had on her is devastating. : : For Maha, westernization was a burden that seemingly plagued her entire life. It was evident in her youth, in her marriage, through her husband’s commitment to ending foreign rule in Jordan, through the death of her husband and her brother’s continued interactions with the English. Maha could not escape the grip of westernization, even thought she lived in a small Bedouin hill town, it influence on her life was omnipresent and inescapable. Thus she was forced to adapt to the position that westernization played in her life. However, westernization did not have the same effect on Maha as it did on Nadia. Maha had no desire to assimilate to the ridiculous, ways of those who “murdered the twin of her soul (Faqir, 7).” : “They were women and I was a woman too, but they were so different. One was wearing a tight dress with a wide, shamefully short skirt…every part of the woman’s body was revealed by the light material. I felt like heating some water and washing the colors off their faces. The shame of it! These women were not shy of showing their bodies off to gazing men (Faqir, 33).” : She only wished to repay them for the frustration and loss they had afflicted her with. After Harb’s death, Daffash had asked Maha to cook for the party of one of his friends. He did not tell Maha that she was to be cooking for the English because he knew that this would upset her. Thus she willingly agreed to cook to make extra money. At the party, Maha was directly forced to confront westernization and the hold that it had on her life. : “Blonde hair and grand uniforms flocked into the well lit garden. I had a glimpse of gold eagles decorating their chests. My hands started shaking. The mountains. Harb’s body sliced into two halves like the mutton I was cooking. I asked ‘who are these people?” he said ‘Our Masters, the English.’ I did not know I was cooking for the English; I kicked the pot over and went into the front yard where the officers were. ‘You killed my husband Harb.’ I stepped forward and wrenched the eagles off the chest of an elderly man, threw it on the ground and stamped on it. I collected as much saliva as I could and spat on the surprised face of the English officer. ‘Foreign killers, all of you.’ I cried (Faqir, 161-62).” : Maha’s reaction the presence of westerners was to revolt against their occupation. She had no tolerance for those who killed her husband and robbed her of her brother, who now was just an ignorant puppet of the English. Maha had no choice but to confront westernization because it confronted her. However, she did not welcome this ‘independence’ as Nadia had. Faced with ever-present westernization, Maha was forced to assimilate into the role of a modern Arab woman. She was forced to exhibit her self-sufficiency after the death of her martyr husband to combat her own brother who had become an English loyalist despite the murder of his brother-in-law. Maha became an assertive, self-sufficient, and strong advocate against British occupation as a result of her contact with westernization. Thus emerged a modern Arab woman, devoutly against western rule. : Both Nadia and Maha confronted westernization, and were affected in different ways. For Nadia, assimilating into the role of a westernized woman meant access to an independence that she otherwise would not have had. It provided her with the opportunity to explore her interests and to acquire an opportunity to be accepted as an equal in a hyper-male world. In many ways, Daffash, Maha’s brother, saw westernization like Nadia did, as a source of independence and opportunity. On the contrary, to Maha westernization symbolized unwanted change that was the force behind her husband’s death. She did not feel the same independence that Nadia felt. Instead she felt that westernization was an uncontrollable force that was compelling its beliefs and ideals on her traditional community, in which if you did not willingly assimilate it would do so for you, by force. : CONCLUSION: : The aforementioned novels—Pillars of Salt, A Woman of Five Seasons, A Balcony over Fakihani, and Dreams of Trespass— depicted the evolution of women in the Arab Middle East. Through personal narrative and fictional accounts, the reader was able to have a glimpse of the effect that the presence of Westernization had on the lives of the women of these novels. Although each woman dealt with the influence of westernization and/or the occupation of an imperial power differently, its mere presence affected and was a stimulus for change in the lives of each of the Arab women portrayed in these novels. It was during this period of imperial occupation that the traditional concepts of womanhood, which had been passed down in families for generations, began to become altered with increased and prolonged exposure to westernized ideology. This is not to say that every woman was affected by westernization in the Middle East. However, there was not a universal reaction for those who were affected by the omnipresence of westernization. Nadia embraced westernization and grew with it; Maha rejected the occupation of any faction of foreign rule and thus resisted conforming to western principals; and Fatima, due to the insistence of her mother, embraced westernization as a means of escaping the confines of the harem. Each woman, due to her own experiences chose to or not to assimilate to the principals of westernization, but nonetheless were affected by its mere presence and the changes it catalyzed in their traditional society. : AFTERWORD: my view of novel sequencing : I felt like the books--Pillars of Salt, A Woman of Five Seasons, A Balcony over Fakihani, and Dreams of Trespass—were read in a purposeful progression; from those containing the most traditional concepts of an Arab woman (in Pillars of Salt) to the most progressive images of westernization and the quest to become a westernized Arab woman (in Dreams of Trespass). Pillars of salt—Maha is traditional woman who tries to follow all the expectations of the traditional Arab woman, as distinguished by her mother, to make her family proud. A woman of five seasons—Nadia, in the beginning of her relationship with Ishtan is a “traditional” wife, but as Isthan becomes increasingly influenced by westernization, Nadia becomes more independent and thus more westernized. Balcony over Fakihani—Although Su’ad is a traditional wife, her husband is largely influenced by a western woman while he is receiving medical treatment in London. In Land of Rock and Thyme, Yasura and her family are also largely affected by westernization through the use of powerful weapons, which kill two of her family members and friends during an uprising in Palestine in the 70’s. She has no control over the senseless use of these weapons on innocent persons and is thus forced to subscribe to a way of life in which surviving, forgiving and forgetting is key. Lastly, Dreams of Trespass—is by far the most progressive novel. Fatima’s mother wanted her daughter at a young age to assimilate into the persona of a western woman to escape the bounded life that she had experienced in the Moroccan Harem. Thus her mother dresses Fatima in western clothing in hopes to allow her increased permeability and acceptance by the western community. :

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