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Women and the West

Posted by Danielle Demers on May 10, 2008 at 15:35:19:

Women and the West
Arab women and their reactions to western forces of oppression and corruption both at home and abroad.

“You are messing up your life”. This is what Asya, a young Egyptian woman, is told by her father when she becomes involved with an English man. True to her father’s prophecy, her love interest Gerald soon after becomes a controlling and abusive force in her life that ultimately leads to the dissolution of her marriage and the postponement of her academic career. Like Gerald, many cultural values that originate in the west are viewed by Arabs as corrupting forces on Arab people and society as a whole.
Each of the five novels that have been analyzed this semester has incorporated the tensions between female characters and western traditions and values. In every novel, ‘the west’ has been portrayed as a looming negative force that either endeavors to change women’s lives through outside action, or seeks to corrupt them via subtle manipulation.
Before beginning to analyze the ways in which each novel does this, however, a distinction must be made between westernization and modernization. Oftentimes these two phenomena are conflated as one by characters in the novels. However, they are two very separate (although ultimately interconnected) entities – modernization usually refers to the propagation of urban areas, industry, and technology. Westernization, however, is more insidious. In political terms, to become more western on a national level is to engage in political and economic liberalization, which ultimately leads to an embracing of market capitalism and representative democracy. Socially, it is often used, at least in the Middle Eastern society portrayed in these novels, in a derogatory sense to describe trends in corruption, oppression, and sexual digressions.
The fact that these two terms are often used interchangeably is not necessarily inaccurate. Many Arab countries received their first significant modern day contact with western forces through the years of imperialism following the fall of the Ottoman Empire. This imperialism took physical form in the past, in the terms of mandates and colonies managed by several European countries. Today, while state imperialism has largely vanished from the region, cultural imperialism has risen to take its place. Coca Cola advertisements are present in the most seemingly remote corners of the world. Western colleges largely dominate the global academic community, and western clothes set the fashion trends for much of the world. Most importantly, western languages – English and French specifically – are seen as necessary to master if one wishes to succeed even within their own country. This new form of imperialism, whether intentional or not, is viewed as a dangerous force by many in the Arab world with the potential to corrode centuries-old values and traditions. From within the Islamic community, the stoically Christian / secular west is an easy scapegoat on which to blame societal problems, particularly those that may stem from more recent (modern) roots.
This essay will analyze how the west functions in engaging Arab women from various times periods, classes, and persuasions, as represented in the five novels that we read in class. Pillars of Salt, A Woman of Five Seasons, A Balcony Over the Fakihani, Dreams of Trespass, and In the Eye of the Sun each contain female protagonists with drastically different stories, but neither they nor their loved ones are immune from western influence. Their interactions with the west vary – some live abroad for several years, while others experiences are limited to rare meetings with foreigners. Still others have exchanges indirectly, and interact only with fellow Arabs throughout the course of their novels. Regardless, the portrayals of the west by these various authors can be distilled into three archetypes. Firstly, the west is often cast as openly oppressing Arabs and Arab society. At other times it is a dangerous force for corruption of people and values on both the macro and micro scale. At times the authors cannot deny that some aspects of western society are, in fact, a force for positive change within society (although these are few and far between). In addition, some authors choose to focus on how women themselves choose to address the challenges that western society brings up, and whether they are successful in meeting these challenges.

The West as an Oppressive Force
The west’s presence amongst those of eastern origins changes and affects women both willingly and unwillingly. In some novels, its capacity is that of the oppressor. This role was easier to fulfill during colonial times, because western states were, in fact, actively oppressing whole segments of the Arab populations. These oppressors have the power to greatly affect women’s lives in the negative sense, but their power comes largely from external sources and has little validity within the population at large, thus limiting its ability to influence women’s personas directly.
The most poignant example of a western power’s ability to utterly devastate a woman’s life is found in the novel Pillars of Salt. The protagonist, Maha, is a Bedouin woman living in the early 20th century. After leading a less than happy life, largely due to her evil brother’s schemes, she finally finds happiness when she marries the love of her life, a fellow villager named Harb. However, shortly after their marriage, he was killed during a raid on a British base. His team of horsemen, armed only with antiquated rifles, was massacred by high-tech British bombs. This gross overuse of force only serves to reinforce the omnipotent malevolence that the British encapsulated during their role as oppressors in this novel. More centrally, the loss of Harb at the hands of the British begins Maha’s descent into desperation, and eventually lands her at the mercy of her brother.
One can see physical representations of western oppression in this novel by looking at the ‘Pasha’s’ house. This house, situated in the midst of land home mostly to Bedouin peasants, is so large that it ‘looked like a big white spot at the edge of the horizon’. Maha is hired to cook ‘authentic Bedouin food’ for a large party, only to find out that it is a party for Englishmen – the same Englishmen who no doubt supported the killing of her husband. Although Maha gets the chance to tell the men and women how she feels about their oppressive system, her moment of resistance is ultimately ineffectual. This underscores her helplessness in society, not only because of her race, but her gender. Indeed, it seems as if the Englishmen are predominantly interested not in recruiting strong, intelligent men and women to assist them with their governance, but in finding people who will reassert their position as the dominant people in the country. The only Arabs that these men allowed into their inner circle were murderous social climbers like Daffash, whose every aspect of character is a mere mimicry of the British. The language he speaks in, cars he drives, clothes her wears, and women he covets are all testament to the extent that his employers have corrupted him.
The fact that Daffash has found success at the expense of Maha underscores another element of oppression that these people are engaging in. Although it was not a concerted effort on the parts of foreign parties to support men and allow them to mistreat their female counterparts, it is clear that some elements of indirect oppression are levied through Arab men. Daffash, and surely many like him, become seduced and corrupted by living in cities and indulging in foreign lifestyles. They are then empowered in new ways to oppress their fellows, and in Daffash’s case he uses his newfound empowerment to settle an old score with his sister. Maha would probably have been able to resist Daffash had they been in strictly a village setting, because she had the full support of her fellow wives and sisters. However, he employs outside help from city thugs, and is thus able to drag her away from her home and her child.
Although he is able to hurt his sister, his real power is really a façade. He is but a lapdog to his wealthy masters, and the one thing that he is hinted at wanting, his white female friend, is never achieved. Indeed, during one interaction he tells her that “we just want your approval and acceptance!” telling the readers that even he is at least partially aware of the fact that no matter his usefulness, he remains something of a servant to these foreign men and women.
The West manifests its oppression both directly and indirectly. One way that it does so is through its support of Israel. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an issue that informs much of the action and rhetoric used in the novels. Although many Israelis themselves are of western descent, it is the support that the state receives from Britain and (more commonly today) the United States that has served as an uncomfortable reminder of how easily these countries can exert their will upon the region. In the Eye of the Sun explores some of the popular opinions on this issue. Asya, the main character, is not Palestinian and has not had to directly deal with the crisis herself outside of being partial to Egyptian involvement. Regardless, she has strong opinions regarding the true motives of the west’s imperial role in the region. When a friend tells her that her people are ‘always at each other’s throats […] unable to outgrow [their] past’, she responds that, “we are not allowed to outgrow our past”. Because of the constant presence of oppressive foreign regimes in the region, Asya argues that these fledgling modern states have not had sufficient experience in solving their own problems because of constant outside meddling. Because of this, they have had great difficulty in addressing the problem of Israel as a cohesive unit, instead digressing into inter and intra state squabbling.
Another novel that explores the problem of western imperialism via Israel is A Woman of Five Seasons. This novel centers around the lives of a Palestinian couple living in a fictional Gulf state, touches briefly on some of the underlying forces that inform the novel’s characters and plot. The couple, Nadia and Ihsan, are of Palestinian decent, but in actuality have never seen their homeland, having grown up as refugees in Syria. Although the novel does not explicitly detail the ways in which the Palestinian diaspora functions within the region at large, its plot would not be possible had the main characters not been victims of Israel’s expansion and the west’s modern day imperialist tendencies. Nadia herself is in an interesting position vis a vis the west. Women in her upper class society are sometimes judged by how and in what manner they contribute to the PLO’s cause. During one telling scene, she is at a formal dinner in which a female liberation fighter implores her fellow nationals to donate large sums of money and equipment. However, the women have become sufficiently blinded by their wealth, the product of a western and capitalist system, and complain about their obligation to their homeland, saying “she won’t be happy until she’s taken our salaries! So the revolution can buy Persian carpets!” These disagreements cause strife and otherwise undermine the women’s solidarity that is present throughout many of the novels.
One last novel that graphically explores the direct repercussions that Israel enacts upon Arab women is A Balcony Over the Fakihani. The first story explicitly shows the plight of women and girls who live in impoverished Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon. Jemila, a young refugee, and her sister spend their days and nights waiting in line to bring jerry cans of water back to their large family. Education and self-empowerment are the farthest things from their minds. This brings into sharp focus the heavy costs that women in particular bear during a war. Their education is the first to be compromised, and often they, like Jemila’s mother, will lose their spouse and become widows. Although in other books such as Pillars of Salt this would not initially pose a problem thanks to the support of local communities, in a refugee situation there is no community to speak of – instead, these women become single mothers without financial or familial security to fall back upon. Although this is a direct effect of the various conflicts with Israel (which is funded by the United States), one must also acknowledge that much of the carnage that Jemila faces is the result of Arabs committing atrocities to her fellow Arabs. For instance, a Lebanese man kills her brother when he divulges his Palestinian identity. However, a primary instigator of this bloody regional conflict was in fact various western powers, which sought to forward their own personal interests – and this was not unknown to those suffering the consequences firsthand.

The West as a Corrupting Force
More pervasive, although more difficult to identify, is the west’s role not as a transparent oppressor, but as a manipulative force that seeks to corrupt women and their relationships from within their own societies. In every novel without exception, this ‘cultural imperialism’ rears its head, often with disastrous results.
Many novels incorporate similar instances that exemplify western culture and its pervasiveness throughout Arab society. Although the days of physical imperialism are well over, certain aspects of western hegemony linger in the various countries, creating stratifications that often depend on how much one is able to function in a European or American context.
A foreign education remains a valuable resource if one is to become successful within modern society. Although many universities are simply statistically better than those in the region and thus more desirable, it also seems to be a matter of prestige and necessity for people of wealth to have a foreign education. Asya;s mother put great emphasis on her daughter earning a PhD, and even though her daughter appeared to be going through great turmoil abroad, she insisted on her completion of an English degree. All financially successful characters in these novels had completed college educations. Indeed, in A Woman of Five Seasons, Nadia desired one for herself, believing that it was the natural trajectory for a liberated, westernized woman to take. She and Ihsan also decide to enroll their children in Swiss summer camps and boarding schools, having come to a decision that “they ought to be brought up differently. It’s a whole different world”. This different world is one in which their children will become increasingly valuable family assets through their knowledge of western culture, horseback riding, and of course, foreign languages.
The omnipotence that foreign languages have in Arab culture is somewhat shocking. English and French are both colonial languages of the Middle East; one having been spoken in Egypt and towards the East, and one being spoken in the Levant and the Maghreb. In the books, these two colonial forces are rarely distinguished other than their languages. They are both looming omnipotent presences that are conflated as ‘the west’. To a western reader, this may seem like somewhat of an insult – the two country’s politics and popular culture are quite distinct – but they are sufficiently different from common Arab views of life to be considered one formidable force. Knowledge of these languages, depending on where a character was from, was essential to their success within their modernized society. All wealthy characters were fluent in at least one foreign language – Ihsan, Nadia, Asya, Saif, and their families all spoke English. Ahmed spoke French. Although in all these cases, this knowledge of language was merely background information on the character, it is interesting that there are no characters that are ‘successful’ by today’s standards that are strictly Arabic speakers.
Fatima Mernissi, the author and main character in Dreams of Tresspass, lives in moderate wealth in an isolated domestic harem within the city of Fez, Morocco. Her family spoke Arabic exclusively, with the exception of one college-educated cousin. However, while her family was affluent enough to afford a large compound, one can assume that they would not be viewed as particularly successful by the standards that much of international society functions by. They would not have been able to take a plane to vacation, or send their children to enriching boarding schools. Fatima attended the nearest school, which was at first a relatively unprofessional Qur’anic school, and then when it became convenient attended a local secular school. These standards are, of course, western in origin.
The primacy that language plays in the region and the dichotomy between those who are empowered and those who are disposed because of language skills is exemplified in Pillars of Salt. The privilege of language and the privilege of gender are inexorably intertwined. Neither Maha nor Harb had the privilege of a basic education, but Maha then followed her trajectory of marriage and childbirth. Harb, on the other hand, abandoned his duties as a son and brother, and chose to become an urban English speaker. Because he was able to do this with limited repercussions, he became financially and personally successful, whereas his ethically superior sister is not able to appeal to people in power and thus falls victim to his schemes.
In these novels, Western forces have often had a hand in the destruction of relationships between protagonists. This is not always in the obvious way that Maha and Daffash experienced. Oftentimes it is in a roundabout was, and not the sole cause of the relationship’s demise. However, the introduction of a western presence is often the catalyst that thrusts characters into turmoil.
The most obvious example of this new portrayal of western presence as danger to Arab society is explained in In the Eye of the Sun, where after increasing exposure to western culture and ideals, Asya not only becomes increasingly distant from her husband, but also engages in a prolonged affair. Although it is made evident to the readers that her marriage was not ideal, the possibility of even having an extramarital affair never crossed Asya’s mind until she had spent well over a year living and studying in Britain. Perhaps it is fear of societal repercussions that tempered her choices in Egypt. Perhaps it is Egypt’s more morally focused society. This is up to the reader to decide. While the author may have been ambiguous as to the virtuousness of Asya’s native culture, she makes no pretenses in portraying the west as a clearly negative influence. This is not to say that adultery is condoned in western cultures, for it is clearly taboo. However, one has only to look to its society to see that oftentimes it occurs with little repercussions to speak of.
After becoming accustomed to Britain (which took well over a year to do), Asya finally gave into the temptation of adultery, and slept with another man. Gerald, her lover, was an Englishman – both non-Arab and non-Muslim. His own views mirrored those of his country in an uncanny way. He was something of a sexual imperialist, who enjoyed sleeping with non-white women from developing countries (his former girlfriends were Trinidadian, Vietnamese, and Bangladeshi), and proceeding to dominate their relationship much like his government had done to their populations. This man did not seek out Asya, however. On the contrary, she spied him at a party and actively pursued his company. It is important to note this difference, for here Asya is not a mere victim of corruption, but an active participant in her own demise. She had the audacity and capability to cross cultural and religious boundaries – western culture was merely an enabler for this potential deviance.
In A Woman of Five Seasons, the descent of Nadia and Ihsan’s relationship comes at the benefit of Nadia, who before had been suffering from what bordered on emotional abuse from her husband. After years of living in Barqais, a fictional gulf principality, she found that her family’s move to London was the change that allowed her to truly allow her to free her ‘inner self’. While this undoubtedly speaks to the benefits that western society can potentially provide for oppressed women, Nadia’s relationship nonetheless crumbled because its power dynamics were not able to adapt to the shock of a new culture and set of ideas. Ihsan was not able to adapt to his wife’s new independence. He still clung to the idea of women as inferior – ‘the rib of a male’ is what he casually used to describe them to his Nadia. When encountering independent women such as his assistant Jessica, he becomes baffled by her, although he is not sure why. He asks himself ‘is it because she is a woman, or is it her self assurance and wit?’ When Nadia began to embody the same qualities as Jessica, neither she nor Ihsan are equipped with the skills to address their changing relationship, because it had been changed through exposure to forces that they were largely unused to interacting with. Ihsan did not know how to function with his wife as an equal partner, and therefore chose to accommodate or ignore her demands for money and independence of choices instead of addressing their problems head-on. Nadia, on the other hand, embraced westernization wholeheartedly, but in the process of her liberation was not able to find a middle ground in her relationship. She chose instead to utterly forsake her former self, the self that was susceptible to Middle Eastern stereotypes of women, and instead chose to follow a western path where she pursued a college education (which was initially denied to her by Ihsan), a business venture with Jessica, and a permanent home in London. By the end of the novel, the power dynamics were completely reversed, and Nadia held the cards in both their relationship and financial lives. Surely this was not the only way she could have achieved a sense of liberation – however, the appeal of becoming truly western eclipsed her desire to balance her native and adopted cultures.
On a lesser note, it must be acknowledged that western women themselves play an important part in seducing and corrupting their male counterparts. There are three novels that describe western women interacting with Arab men, but in both cases they hold the power to corrupt the men and lead them astray. The first case is in Pillars of Salt, in which it is mentioned briefly that Daffash coveted a white woman with poor Arabic skills. However, in A Woman of Five Seasons, Ihsan’s desire for a western woman almost destroys his career when he meets Angela, a woman who was actually being paid by Ihsan’s business partner to seduce and then blackmail him. Like Asya, Ihsan would not have dared to cheat on his wife had they still been living in Barqais. It would have been a risk both financially and culturally. However, upon leaving his culture’s overarching normative morals, he no longer felt the need to abide by any cultural restrictions. Of course, the fact that the woman he was courting was a white non-Muslim probably alleviated some of the guilt for him. A western woman seduces another man, albeit with an element of love involved. In A Balcony Over the Fakihani, Umar, Su’ad’s husband, falls in love with his nurse when he is sent to Hungary for medical treatment. This time, however, he truly fell in love with her. This did not stop her becoming something of ‘the other woman’ upon his return to Lebanon and his wife, even insisting that she travel to Lebanon to meet his family. Again, Umar would not have had the opportunity to meet this woman had he not traveled to the west, and thus would have been free from the potential ruination of his marriage. His wife Su’ad, who was very much in love with Umar, became a victim of corruption that she had no way of preventing or mitigating.

Women’s Reactions to Western Forces
The roles of the west in women’s lives have now been analyzed in great detail. However, to do so without a discussion of women’s reactions to this presence would undermine their worth as a societal force, and as valuable characters in the novels. Indeed, each female protagonist has reacted to western forces in different ways. This is partially due to their own strengths of personality, but also to the fact that each individual is exposed to different elements of western culture. Living in Britain for years necessitates a very different reaction than minimal contact with foreigners. Most importantly, one must keep in mind the question – how culpable are women in their interactions and (sometimes) seduction by the west?
Two novels depict women who willingly adopt ‘western’ values and practices, albeit to different results. ‘Western’ is in quotes here, because when discussing things such as adultery, this is clearly an action that is taboo in both western and eastern societies. However, because of suggestive media and the overall more relaxed demeanor of European and American countries in comparison to their Arab counterparts makes it safe to assume that these actions are often (mis)construed as a product of foreign influence.
Both these examples have already been touched on in previous pages. The first is that of Asya, who has an affair and eventually divorces her husband during her time living in Britain. She was not a victim of western influence – she was a culpable participant in her downfall. Indeed, she is something of an anti-hero figure; a main character that the reader often loves to hate. She had experienced dissatisfaction with her relationship with Saif before leaving Egypt, to the extent that at one point she lived with her female friend for several days instead of returning home. Therefore, perhaps leaving her restrictive society provided her with a mere excuse to engage in her lecherous behavior. In addition, one particular man – Gerald, seduced Asya. Before Gerald, Asya had arguably fallen in love with another western man named Mario. However, Mario upheld true societal virtues by remaining her friend despite their mutual interests. This is one of the few times we see a positive male figure emerge amidst forces of tempatation.
Nadia is the other woman to be complicit in her transformation by western culture. However, she was not corrupted per se, instead she gained newfound confidence in herself as a proactive human being. Like Asya, she was particularly affected by one western person – in her case, Jessica Raban. Jessica does not necessarily represent a western woman, but is instead a universal independent female figure. Jessica herself was a few steps ahead of the British in terms of femininsm. She was both successful at her high paying job and a single woman.
Both Asya and Nadia were active participants in their subsequent ‘westernizations’. However, some women choose to challenge the pervasiveness of western peoples and culture in their homelands. Maha, as stated before, stood up to the British pasha and refused to work for him. For her, the idea of striking some sort of compromise with these intrusive westerners was not an option. They had killed her husband and stripped her of a happy future. Unfortunately, her valiance ultimately amounted to nothing, as she was escorted off their premises and later sentenced to a mental institution. This teaches the reader a lesson: that courage, while admirable, is not enough to challenge or reverse western forces within a country. Their power is too expansive, and their influence too insidious.
Dreams of Trespass also documents a strong woman who engaged in physical resistance to French occupation. Tamar, a rural woman, was an active member in a rural guerilla resistance movement. Although these fighters managed to cause trouble for the colonial power, they too suffered the majority of losses. Tamar was hit especially hard – she lost her husband and her children. Once again, female resistance to the west proved ultimately ineffectual.
Actively fighting western influence and participating in its corrupting processes are two extremes, and by far not the only paths that one may take in the face of this invasive force. Fatima Mernissi’s family attempted to retain their purity by physically sequestering themselves from the outside world. Their choice to live in a harem was not simply a response to western culture – it was practiced for a myriad of reasons, including tradition, family security, and family honor. However, it’s primary goal was to keep members, especially the women, away form all things ‘haram;’, both Moroccan and not. This method was somewhat effectual. Fatima grew up within a tight knit family, and for the most part she remained a traditional Moroccan girl. However, modernization and the western influences it carries with it will often spread beyond physical walls. This novel takes place in the 40’s and 50’s, and therefore any influence that the west wielded then is probably much greater today. However, in the book a few tokens of foreign influence are present. Firstly, the men in her family acquire a radio to listen to the goings on in Morocco and in the World War in Europe. Although the women were not allowed to listen, they managed to gain access to this precious symbol of the outside world. The most important western introduction into Mernissi’s life was probably that of a newarby secular school. Before attending this school, she went to a Qur’anic school which teaches the bare essentials needed to read and understand the Qur’an. However, the secular school taught many core subjects, and allowed her to gain more critical access to the world at large. Mernissi is now a university professor – who knows what path her life might have taken if she had remained at the Qur’anic school.
While the Mernissi family had a partially successful model of addressing western corruption, by far the most successful women in these novels were the ones who maintained their Arab identity while achieving intellectual and physical independence for themselves. This is most explicitly portrayed in A Balcony Over the Fakihani, where the characters in the two later stories, Yusra and Su’ad, lived independent lives. Although they married, they both had to suffer the eventual loss of their husbands, and continue living lives as single women. This is not the virtual death sentence prescribed to Maha – instead, they continue to function much as they did before. It is not coincidence that both of these women were members of the PLO. Joining a national resistance gave them a voice that was not afforded to many of the other women in these novels. Nadia is the only other character with ties to the PLO, but these were strictly peripheral, and took place in a financial context that her husband was largely responsible for. Becoming physically involved in the resistance, however, led to far different results. Looking at this from a political standpoint, this makes sense. A movement that is greatly beholden to them for help cannot easily oppress these women.
Another prerequisite for this type of female empowerment seems to be the embracing of one’s identity as an Arab. This often seems to come at the expense of Israel and other real and perceived western forces. Yusra and Su’ad had achieved the most tangible freedoms while remaining strictly Arab women. Nadia was the opposite, gaining freedom by abandoning her former self. It is important to note that nowhere in any novel does a woman find the elusive balance between embracing oneself as an Arab who is living and working within western contexts. The possible exception to this could be Fatima Mernissi. It is known now that she is a professor and a ‘Muslim feminist’. However, since her character is so young in the novel, it is impossible to concretely say that she has managed to strike this balance.
The West as a Positive Force?
Although modernization and westernization can undoubtedly be positive forces in today’s Middle East, their positive influences are oftentimes eclipsed by well-publicized scandals that these ‘imperialist’ countries engage in. This is no different in the books. However, it is important to take into account the limited positive effects that the west had on some of the characters.
Positive western influence seems to take two forms in the novels – people and goods or services. The two people who were great influences were Jessica Raban and Mario, Asya’s first male interest. Jessica has already been discussed at length. Mario, however, is an interesting character. He is possibly the only example in these five books of a western man who is truly a good individual. Saif, Asya’s husband, afforded him an element of trust that most Arabs in the novels did not lend to westerners. Even more, he upheld that trust even when he was alone with Asya, who he clearly desired. Both he and Jessica, however, seem to be anomalies in their respective books. Their virtuousness stems from their strong personal characteristics rather than the cultures they were raised in.
In other cases, characters are provided with goods and services that ultimately benefit them. Fatima was able to attend a secular school, which opened up doors for her that extended beyond the confines of her family’s harem. Maha, too, gained one benefit from the west (although it seems small in comparison to what she eventually lost). She heard on her brother’s radio about a medicine that she could give to her ailing orange trees. Although she was suspicious of the chemicals at first, they eventually saved her trees. These trees were part of the garden that meant a great deal to Maha – she was so engrained in the land that she was born in that she even birthed her son there. Western science helped her to save this precious land.
One character’s plight begs the question – are there times when some western influence should be welcomed into the more oppressive parts of Arab society? Um Saad, the other woman in Pillars of Salt, was horribly abused by her husband and children, and eventually discarded for a younger wife. The years of emotional abuse that she suffered eventually resulted in a nervous breakdown and subsequent abandoning at a mental institution. One cannot help but speculate if the introduction of a competing set of norms via the west would have helped her find a way to counter her husband. Although this is inconclusive speculation, it is important to acknowledge, for Middle Eastern society, like its western counterpart, is not without severe flaws.
The characters of Nadia and Asya represent the two women who had the most contact with the west, having both lived there for several years. Both of them were the most transformed by their experiences, yet at the same time they were both women who were open to this transformation long before moving to Britain. This raises a final question – is it truly the west that is responsible for corruption, or is it every individual’s responsibility to find a positive way to interact with outside forces?

Throughout this paper, the challenges and conflicts resulting from women’s exposure to western forces have been analyzed in great detail. Although this paper does not seek to draw conclusions as to the real life impacts of western culture on Arab women’s lives both at home and abroad, it is evident that there is a strong trend throughout many author’s works. The west is viewed sometimes as an oppressive foreign entity, and sometimes as a culturally imperialist force. Although some aspects of its introduction into the Arab world can be for the better, this is often the result of modernization, not the unwanted intrusion of western ideals and values. Women, because of their generally less empowered place in Arab society, are often denied the benefits and most greatly affected by the negative aspects of this intrusion. However, it is ultimately their choice as to whether they will take up arms, become co-conspirators in their own demise, or strike a balance between their own independence and Arab femininity.

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: Women and the West : Arab women and their reactions to western forces of oppression and corruption both at home and abroad. : “You are messing up your life”. This is what Asya, a young Egyptian woman, is told by her father when she becomes involved with an English man. True to her father’s prophecy, her love interest Gerald soon after becomes a controlling and abusive force in her life that ultimately leads to the dissolution of her marriage and the postponement of her academic career. Like Gerald, many cultural values that originate in the west are viewed by Arabs as corrupting forces on Arab people and society as a whole. : Each of the five novels that have been analyzed this semester has incorporated the tensions between female characters and western traditions and values. In every novel, ‘the west’ has been portrayed as a looming negative force that either endeavors to change women’s lives through outside action, or seeks to corrupt them via subtle manipulation. : Before beginning to analyze the ways in which each novel does this, however, a distinction must be made between westernization and modernization. Oftentimes these two phenomena are conflated as one by characters in the novels. However, they are two very separate (although ultimately interconnected) entities – modernization usually refers to the propagation of urban areas, industry, and technology. Westernization, however, is more insidious. In political terms, to become more western on a national level is to engage in political and economic liberalization, which ultimately leads to an embracing of market capitalism and representative democracy. Socially, it is often used, at least in the Middle Eastern society portrayed in these novels, in a derogatory sense to describe trends in corruption, oppression, and sexual digressions. : The fact that these two terms are often used interchangeably is not necessarily inaccurate. Many Arab countries received their first significant modern day contact with western forces through the years of imperialism following the fall of the Ottoman Empire. This imperialism took physical form in the past, in the terms of mandates and colonies managed by several European countries. Today, while state imperialism has largely vanished from the region, cultural imperialism has risen to take its place. Coca Cola advertisements are present in the most seemingly remote corners of the world. Western colleges largely dominate the global academic community, and western clothes set the fashion trends for much of the world. Most importantly, western languages – English and French specifically – are seen as necessary to master if one wishes to succeed even within their own country. This new form of imperialism, whether intentional or not, is viewed as a dangerous force by many in the Arab world with the potential to corrode centuries-old values and traditions. From within the Islamic community, the stoically Christian / secular west is an easy scapegoat on which to blame societal problems, particularly those that may stem from more recent (modern) roots. : This essay will analyze how the west functions in engaging Arab women from various times periods, classes, and persuasions, as represented in the five novels that we read in class. Pillars of Salt, A Woman of Five Seasons, A Balcony Over the Fakihani, Dreams of Trespass, and In the Eye of the Sun each contain female protagonists with drastically different stories, but neither they nor their loved ones are immune from western influence. Their interactions with the west vary – some live abroad for several years, while others experiences are limited to rare meetings with foreigners. Still others have exchanges indirectly, and interact only with fellow Arabs throughout the course of their novels. Regardless, the portrayals of the west by these various authors can be distilled into three archetypes. Firstly, the west is often cast as openly oppressing Arabs and Arab society. At other times it is a dangerous force for corruption of people and values on both the macro and micro scale. At times the authors cannot deny that some aspects of western society are, in fact, a force for positive change within society (although these are few and far between). In addition, some authors choose to focus on how women themselves choose to address the challenges that western society brings up, and whether they are successful in meeting these challenges. : The West as an Oppressive Force : The west’s presence amongst those of eastern origins changes and affects women both willingly and unwillingly. In some novels, its capacity is that of the oppressor. This role was easier to fulfill during colonial times, because western states were, in fact, actively oppressing whole segments of the Arab populations. These oppressors have the power to greatly affect women’s lives in the negative sense, but their power comes largely from external sources and has little validity within the population at large, thus limiting its ability to influence women’s personas directly. : The most poignant example of a western power’s ability to utterly devastate a woman’s life is found in the novel Pillars of Salt. The protagonist, Maha, is a Bedouin woman living in the early 20th century. After leading a less than happy life, largely due to her evil brother’s schemes, she finally finds happiness when she marries the love of her life, a fellow villager named Harb. However, shortly after their marriage, he was killed during a raid on a British base. His team of horsemen, armed only with antiquated rifles, was massacred by high-tech British bombs. This gross overuse of force only serves to reinforce the omnipotent malevolence that the British encapsulated during their role as oppressors in this novel. More centrally, the loss of Harb at the hands of the British begins Maha’s descent into desperation, and eventually lands her at the mercy of her brother. : One can see physical representations of western oppression in this novel by looking at the ‘Pasha’s’ house. This house, situated in the midst of land home mostly to Bedouin peasants, is so large that it ‘looked like a big white spot at the edge of the horizon’. Maha is hired to cook ‘authentic Bedouin food’ for a large party, only to find out that it is a party for Englishmen – the same Englishmen who no doubt supported the killing of her husband. Although Maha gets the chance to tell the men and women how she feels about their oppressive system, her moment of resistance is ultimately ineffectual. This underscores her helplessness in society, not only because of her race, but her gender. Indeed, it seems as if the Englishmen are predominantly interested not in recruiting strong, intelligent men and women to assist them with their governance, but in finding people who will reassert their position as the dominant people in the country. The only Arabs that these men allowed into their inner circle were murderous social climbers like Daffash, whose every aspect of character is a mere mimicry of the British. The language he speaks in, cars he drives, clothes her wears, and women he covets are all testament to the extent that his employers have corrupted him. : The fact that Daffash has found success at the expense of Maha underscores another element of oppression that these people are engaging in. Although it was not a concerted effort on the parts of foreign parties to support men and allow them to mistreat their female counterparts, it is clear that some elements of indirect oppression are levied through Arab men. Daffash, and surely many like him, become seduced and corrupted by living in cities and indulging in foreign lifestyles. They are then empowered in new ways to oppress their fellows, and in Daffash’s case he uses his newfound empowerment to settle an old score with his sister. Maha would probably have been able to resist Daffash had they been in strictly a village setting, because she had the full support of her fellow wives and sisters. However, he employs outside help from city thugs, and is thus able to drag her away from her home and her child. : Although he is able to hurt his sister, his real power is really a façade. He is but a lapdog to his wealthy masters, and the one thing that he is hinted at wanting, his white female friend, is never achieved. Indeed, during one interaction he tells her that “we just want your approval and acceptance!” telling the readers that even he is at least partially aware of the fact that no matter his usefulness, he remains something of a servant to these foreign men and women. : The West manifests its oppression both directly and indirectly. One way that it does so is through its support of Israel. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an issue that informs much of the action and rhetoric used in the novels. Although many Israelis themselves are of western descent, it is the support that the state receives from Britain and (more commonly today) the United States that has served as an uncomfortable reminder of how easily these countries can exert their will upon the region. In the Eye of the Sun explores some of the popular opinions on this issue. Asya, the main character, is not Palestinian and has not had to directly deal with the crisis herself outside of being partial to Egyptian involvement. Regardless, she has strong opinions regarding the true motives of the west’s imperial role in the region. When a friend tells her that her people are ‘always at each other’s throats […] unable to outgrow [their] past’, she responds that, “we are not allowed to outgrow our past”. Because of the constant presence of oppressive foreign regimes in the region, Asya argues that these fledgling modern states have not had sufficient experience in solving their own problems because of constant outside meddling. Because of this, they have had great difficulty in addressing the problem of Israel as a cohesive unit, instead digressing into inter and intra state squabbling. : Another novel that explores the problem of western imperialism via Israel is A Woman of Five Seasons. This novel centers around the lives of a Palestinian couple living in a fictional Gulf state, touches briefly on some of the underlying forces that inform the novel’s characters and plot. The couple, Nadia and Ihsan, are of Palestinian decent, but in actuality have never seen their homeland, having grown up as refugees in Syria. Although the novel does not explicitly detail the ways in which the Palestinian diaspora functions within the region at large, its plot would not be possible had the main characters not been victims of Israel’s expansion and the west’s modern day imperialist tendencies. Nadia herself is in an interesting position vis a vis the west. Women in her upper class society are sometimes judged by how and in what manner they contribute to the PLO’s cause. During one telling scene, she is at a formal dinner in which a female liberation fighter implores her fellow nationals to donate large sums of money and equipment. However, the women have become sufficiently blinded by their wealth, the product of a western and capitalist system, and complain about their obligation to their homeland, saying “she won’t be happy until she’s taken our salaries! So the revolution can buy Persian carpets!” These disagreements cause strife and otherwise undermine the women’s solidarity that is present throughout many of the novels. : One last novel that graphically explores the direct repercussions that Israel enacts upon Arab women is A Balcony Over the Fakihani. The first story explicitly shows the plight of women and girls who live in impoverished Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon. Jemila, a young refugee, and her sister spend their days and nights waiting in line to bring jerry cans of water back to their large family. Education and self-empowerment are the farthest things from their minds. This brings into sharp focus the heavy costs that women in particular bear during a war. Their education is the first to be compromised, and often they, like Jemila’s mother, will lose their spouse and become widows. Although in other books such as Pillars of Salt this would not initially pose a problem thanks to the support of local communities, in a refugee situation there is no community to speak of – instead, these women become single mothers without financial or familial security to fall back upon. Although this is a direct effect of the various conflicts with Israel (which is funded by the United States), one must also acknowledge that much of the carnage that Jemila faces is the result of Arabs committing atrocities to her fellow Arabs. For instance, a Lebanese man kills her brother when he divulges his Palestinian identity. However, a primary instigator of this bloody regional conflict was in fact various western powers, which sought to forward their own personal interests – and this was not unknown to those suffering the consequences firsthand. : The West as a Corrupting Force : More pervasive, although more difficult to identify, is the west’s role not as a transparent oppressor, but as a manipulative force that seeks to corrupt women and their relationships from within their own societies. In every novel without exception, this ‘cultural imperialism’ rears its head, often with disastrous results. : Many novels incorporate similar instances that exemplify western culture and its pervasiveness throughout Arab society. Although the days of physical imperialism are well over, certain aspects of western hegemony linger in the various countries, creating stratifications that often depend on how much one is able to function in a European or American context. : A foreign education remains a valuable resource if one is to become successful within modern society. Although many universities are simply statistically better than those in the region and thus more desirable, it also seems to be a matter of prestige and necessity for people of wealth to have a foreign education. Asya;s mother put great emphasis on her daughter earning a PhD, and even though her daughter appeared to be going through great turmoil abroad, she insisted on her completion of an English degree. All financially successful characters in these novels had completed college educations. Indeed, in A Woman of Five Seasons, Nadia desired one for herself, believing that it was the natural trajectory for a liberated, westernized woman to take. She and Ihsan also decide to enroll their children in Swiss summer camps and boarding schools, having come to a decision that “they ought to be brought up differently. It’s a whole different world”. This different world is one in which their children will become increasingly valuable family assets through their knowledge of western culture, horseback riding, and of course, foreign languages. : The omnipotence that foreign languages have in Arab culture is somewhat shocking. English and French are both colonial languages of the Middle East; one having been spoken in Egypt and towards the East, and one being spoken in the Levant and the Maghreb. In the books, these two colonial forces are rarely distinguished other than their languages. They are both looming omnipotent presences that are conflated as ‘the west’. To a western reader, this may seem like somewhat of an insult – the two country’s politics and popular culture are quite distinct – but they are sufficiently different from common Arab views of life to be considered one formidable force. Knowledge of these languages, depending on where a character was from, was essential to their success within their modernized society. All wealthy characters were fluent in at least one foreign language – Ihsan, Nadia, Asya, Saif, and their families all spoke English. Ahmed spoke French. Although in all these cases, this knowledge of language was merely background information on the character, it is interesting that there are no characters that are ‘successful’ by today’s standards that are strictly Arabic speakers. : Fatima Mernissi, the author and main character in Dreams of Tresspass, lives in moderate wealth in an isolated domestic harem within the city of Fez, Morocco. Her family spoke Arabic exclusively, with the exception of one college-educated cousin. However, while her family was affluent enough to afford a large compound, one can assume that they would not be viewed as particularly successful by the standards that much of international society functions by. They would not have been able to take a plane to vacation, or send their children to enriching boarding schools. Fatima attended the nearest school, which was at first a relatively unprofessional Qur’anic school, and then when it became convenient attended a local secular school. These standards are, of course, western in origin. : The primacy that language plays in the region and the dichotomy between those who are empowered and those who are disposed because of language skills is exemplified in Pillars of Salt. The privilege of language and the privilege of gender are inexorably intertwined. Neither Maha nor Harb had the privilege of a basic education, but Maha then followed her trajectory of marriage and childbirth. Harb, on the other hand, abandoned his duties as a son and brother, and chose to become an urban English speaker. Because he was able to do this with limited repercussions, he became financially and personally successful, whereas his ethically superior sister is not able to appeal to people in power and thus falls victim to his schemes. : In these novels, Western forces have often had a hand in the destruction of relationships between protagonists. This is not always in the obvious way that Maha and Daffash experienced. Oftentimes it is in a roundabout was, and not the sole cause of the relationship’s demise. However, the introduction of a western presence is often the catalyst that thrusts characters into turmoil. : The most obvious example of this new portrayal of western presence as danger to Arab society is explained in In the Eye of the Sun, where after increasing exposure to western culture and ideals, Asya not only becomes increasingly distant from her husband, but also engages in a prolonged affair. Although it is made evident to the readers that her marriage was not ideal, the possibility of even having an extramarital affair never crossed Asya’s mind until she had spent well over a year living and studying in Britain. Perhaps it is fear of societal repercussions that tempered her choices in Egypt. Perhaps it is Egypt’s more morally focused society. This is up to the reader to decide. While the author may have been ambiguous as to the virtuousness of Asya’s native culture, she makes no pretenses in portraying the west as a clearly negative influence. This is not to say that adultery is condoned in western cultures, for it is clearly taboo. However, one has only to look to its society to see that oftentimes it occurs with little repercussions to speak of. : After becoming accustomed to Britain (which took well over a year to do), Asya finally gave into the temptation of adultery, and slept with another man. Gerald, her lover, was an Englishman – both non-Arab and non-Muslim. His own views mirrored those of his country in an uncanny way. He was something of a sexual imperialist, who enjoyed sleeping with non-white women from developing countries (his former girlfriends were Trinidadian, Vietnamese, and Bangladeshi), and proceeding to dominate their relationship much like his government had done to their populations. This man did not seek out Asya, however. On the contrary, she spied him at a party and actively pursued his company. It is important to note this difference, for here Asya is not a mere victim of corruption, but an active participant in her own demise. She had the audacity and capability to cross cultural and religious boundaries – western culture was merely an enabler for this potential deviance. : In A Woman of Five Seasons, the descent of Nadia and Ihsan’s relationship comes at the benefit of Nadia, who before had been suffering from what bordered on emotional abuse from her husband. After years of living in Barqais, a fictional gulf principality, she found that her family’s move to London was the change that allowed her to truly allow her to free her ‘inner self’. While this undoubtedly speaks to the benefits that western society can potentially provide for oppressed women, Nadia’s relationship nonetheless crumbled because its power dynamics were not able to adapt to the shock of a new culture and set of ideas. Ihsan was not able to adapt to his wife’s new independence. He still clung to the idea of women as inferior – ‘the rib of a male’ is what he casually used to describe them to his Nadia. When encountering independent women such as his assistant Jessica, he becomes baffled by her, although he is not sure why. He asks himself ‘is it because she is a woman, or is it her self assurance and wit?’ When Nadia began to embody the same qualities as Jessica, neither she nor Ihsan are equipped with the skills to address their changing relationship, because it had been changed through exposure to forces that they were largely unused to interacting with. Ihsan did not know how to function with his wife as an equal partner, and therefore chose to accommodate or ignore her demands for money and independence of choices instead of addressing their problems head-on. Nadia, on the other hand, embraced westernization wholeheartedly, but in the process of her liberation was not able to find a middle ground in her relationship. She chose instead to utterly forsake her former self, the self that was susceptible to Middle Eastern stereotypes of women, and instead chose to follow a western path where she pursued a college education (which was initially denied to her by Ihsan), a business venture with Jessica, and a permanent home in London. By the end of the novel, the power dynamics were completely reversed, and Nadia held the cards in both their relationship and financial lives. Surely this was not the only way she could have achieved a sense of liberation – however, the appeal of becoming truly western eclipsed her desire to balance her native and adopted cultures. : On a lesser note, it must be acknowledged that western women themselves play an important part in seducing and corrupting their male counterparts. There are three novels that describe western women interacting with Arab men, but in both cases they hold the power to corrupt the men and lead them astray. The first case is in Pillars of Salt, in which it is mentioned briefly that Daffash coveted a white woman with poor Arabic skills. However, in A Woman of Five Seasons, Ihsan’s desire for a western woman almost destroys his career when he meets Angela, a woman who was actually being paid by Ihsan’s business partner to seduce and then blackmail him. Like Asya, Ihsan would not have dared to cheat on his wife had they still been living in Barqais. It would have been a risk both financially and culturally. However, upon leaving his culture’s overarching normative morals, he no longer felt the need to abide by any cultural restrictions. Of course, the fact that the woman he was courting was a white non-Muslim probably alleviated some of the guilt for him. A western woman seduces another man, albeit with an element of love involved. In A Balcony Over the Fakihani, Umar, Su’ad’s husband, falls in love with his nurse when he is sent to Hungary for medical treatment. This time, however, he truly fell in love with her. This did not stop her becoming something of ‘the other woman’ upon his return to Lebanon and his wife, even insisting that she travel to Lebanon to meet his family. Again, Umar would not have had the opportunity to meet this woman had he not traveled to the west, and thus would have been free from the potential ruination of his marriage. His wife Su’ad, who was very much in love with Umar, became a victim of corruption that she had no way of preventing or mitigating. : : Women’s Reactions to Western Forces : The roles of the west in women’s lives have now been analyzed in great detail. However, to do so without a discussion of women’s reactions to this presence would undermine their worth as a societal force, and as valuable characters in the novels. Indeed, each female protagonist has reacted to western forces in different ways. This is partially due to their own strengths of personality, but also to the fact that each individual is exposed to different elements of western culture. Living in Britain for years necessitates a very different reaction than minimal contact with foreigners. Most importantly, one must keep in mind the question – how culpable are women in their interactions and (sometimes) seduction by the west? : Two novels depict women who willingly adopt ‘western’ values and practices, albeit to different results. ‘Western’ is in quotes here, because when discussing things such as adultery, this is clearly an action that is taboo in both western and eastern societies. However, because of suggestive media and the overall more relaxed demeanor of European and American countries in comparison to their Arab counterparts makes it safe to assume that these actions are often (mis)construed as a product of foreign influence. : Both these examples have already been touched on in previous pages. The first is that of Asya, who has an affair and eventually divorces her husband during her time living in Britain. She was not a victim of western influence – she was a culpable participant in her downfall. Indeed, she is something of an anti-hero figure; a main character that the reader often loves to hate. She had experienced dissatisfaction with her relationship with Saif before leaving Egypt, to the extent that at one point she lived with her female friend for several days instead of returning home. Therefore, perhaps leaving her restrictive society provided her with a mere excuse to engage in her lecherous behavior. In addition, one particular man – Gerald, seduced Asya. Before Gerald, Asya had arguably fallen in love with another western man named Mario. However, Mario upheld true societal virtues by remaining her friend despite their mutual interests. This is one of the few times we see a positive male figure emerge amidst forces of tempatation. : Nadia is the other woman to be complicit in her transformation by western culture. However, she was not corrupted per se, instead she gained newfound confidence in herself as a proactive human being. Like Asya, she was particularly affected by one western person – in her case, Jessica Raban. Jessica does not necessarily represent a western woman, but is instead a universal independent female figure. Jessica herself was a few steps ahead of the British in terms of femininsm. She was both successful at her high paying job and a single woman. : Both Asya and Nadia were active participants in their subsequent ‘westernizations’. However, some women choose to challenge the pervasiveness of western peoples and culture in their homelands. Maha, as stated before, stood up to the British pasha and refused to work for him. For her, the idea of striking some sort of compromise with these intrusive westerners was not an option. They had killed her husband and stripped her of a happy future. Unfortunately, her valiance ultimately amounted to nothing, as she was escorted off their premises and later sentenced to a mental institution. This teaches the reader a lesson: that courage, while admirable, is not enough to challenge or reverse western forces within a country. Their power is too expansive, and their influence too insidious. : Dreams of Trespass also documents a strong woman who engaged in physical resistance to French occupation. Tamar, a rural woman, was an active member in a rural guerilla resistance movement. Although these fighters managed to cause trouble for the colonial power, they too suffered the majority of losses. Tamar was hit especially hard – she lost her husband and her children. Once again, female resistance to the west proved ultimately ineffectual. : Actively fighting western influence and participating in its corrupting processes are two extremes, and by far not the only paths that one may take in the face of this invasive force. Fatima Mernissi’s family attempted to retain their purity by physically sequestering themselves from the outside world. Their choice to live in a harem was not simply a response to western culture – it was practiced for a myriad of reasons, including tradition, family security, and family honor. However, it’s primary goal was to keep members, especially the women, away form all things ‘haram;’, both Moroccan and not. This method was somewhat effectual. Fatima grew up within a tight knit family, and for the most part she remained a traditional Moroccan girl. However, modernization and the western influences it carries with it will often spread beyond physical walls. This novel takes place in the 40’s and 50’s, and therefore any influence that the west wielded then is probably much greater today. However, in the book a few tokens of foreign influence are present. Firstly, the men in her family acquire a radio to listen to the goings on in Morocco and in the World War in Europe. Although the women were not allowed to listen, they managed to gain access to this precious symbol of the outside world. The most important western introduction into Mernissi’s life was probably that of a newarby secular school. Before attending this school, she went to a Qur’anic school which teaches the bare essentials needed to read and understand the Qur’an. However, the secular school taught many core subjects, and allowed her to gain more critical access to the world at large. Mernissi is now a university professor – who knows what path her life might have taken if she had remained at the Qur’anic school. : While the Mernissi family had a partially successful model of addressing western corruption, by far the most successful women in these novels were the ones who maintained their Arab identity while achieving intellectual and physical independence for themselves. This is most explicitly portrayed in A Balcony Over the Fakihani, where the characters in the two later stories, Yusra and Su’ad, lived independent lives. Although they married, they both had to suffer the eventual loss of their husbands, and continue living lives as single women. This is not the virtual death sentence prescribed to Maha – instead, they continue to function much as they did before. It is not coincidence that both of these women were members of the PLO. Joining a national resistance gave them a voice that was not afforded to many of the other women in these novels. Nadia is the only other character with ties to the PLO, but these were strictly peripheral, and took place in a financial context that her husband was largely responsible for. Becoming physically involved in the resistance, however, led to far different results. Looking at this from a political standpoint, this makes sense. A movement that is greatly beholden to them for help cannot easily oppress these women. : Another prerequisite for this type of female empowerment seems to be the embracing of one’s identity as an Arab. This often seems to come at the expense of Israel and other real and perceived western forces. Yusra and Su’ad had achieved the most tangible freedoms while remaining strictly Arab women. Nadia was the opposite, gaining freedom by abandoning her former self. It is important to note that nowhere in any novel does a woman find the elusive balance between embracing oneself as an Arab who is living and working within western contexts. The possible exception to this could be Fatima Mernissi. It is known now that she is a professor and a ‘Muslim feminist’. However, since her character is so young in the novel, it is impossible to concretely say that she has managed to strike this balance. : The West as a Positive Force? : Although modernization and westernization can undoubtedly be positive forces in today’s Middle East, their positive influences are oftentimes eclipsed by well-publicized scandals that these ‘imperialist’ countries engage in. This is no different in the books. However, it is important to take into account the limited positive effects that the west had on some of the characters. : Positive western influence seems to take two forms in the novels – people and goods or services. The two people who were great influences were Jessica Raban and Mario, Asya’s first male interest. Jessica has already been discussed at length. Mario, however, is an interesting character. He is possibly the only example in these five books of a western man who is truly a good individual. Saif, Asya’s husband, afforded him an element of trust that most Arabs in the novels did not lend to westerners. Even more, he upheld that trust even when he was alone with Asya, who he clearly desired. Both he and Jessica, however, seem to be anomalies in their respective books. Their virtuousness stems from their strong personal characteristics rather than the cultures they were raised in. : In other cases, characters are provided with goods and services that ultimately benefit them. Fatima was able to attend a secular school, which opened up doors for her that extended beyond the confines of her family’s harem. Maha, too, gained one benefit from the west (although it seems small in comparison to what she eventually lost). She heard on her brother’s radio about a medicine that she could give to her ailing orange trees. Although she was suspicious of the chemicals at first, they eventually saved her trees. These trees were part of the garden that meant a great deal to Maha – she was so engrained in the land that she was born in that she even birthed her son there. Western science helped her to save this precious land. : One character’s plight begs the question – are there times when some western influence should be welcomed into the more oppressive parts of Arab society? Um Saad, the other woman in Pillars of Salt, was horribly abused by her husband and children, and eventually discarded for a younger wife. The years of emotional abuse that she suffered eventually resulted in a nervous breakdown and subsequent abandoning at a mental institution. One cannot help but speculate if the introduction of a competing set of norms via the west would have helped her find a way to counter her husband. Although this is inconclusive speculation, it is important to acknowledge, for Middle Eastern society, like its western counterpart, is not without severe flaws. : The characters of Nadia and Asya represent the two women who had the most contact with the west, having both lived there for several years. Both of them were the most transformed by their experiences, yet at the same time they were both women who were open to this transformation long before moving to Britain. This raises a final question – is it truly the west that is responsible for corruption, or is it every individual’s responsibility to find a positive way to interact with outside forces? : Throughout this paper, the challenges and conflicts resulting from women’s exposure to western forces have been analyzed in great detail. Although this paper does not seek to draw conclusions as to the real life impacts of western culture on Arab women’s lives both at home and abroad, it is evident that there is a strong trend throughout many author’s works. The west is viewed sometimes as an oppressive foreign entity, and sometimes as a culturally imperialist force. Although some aspects of its introduction into the Arab world can be for the better, this is often the result of modernization, not the unwanted intrusion of western ideals and values. Women, because of their generally less empowered place in Arab society, are often denied the benefits and most greatly affected by the negative aspects of this intrusion. However, it is ultimately their choice as to whether they will take up arms, become co-conspirators in their own demise, or strike a balance between their own independence and Arab femininity. : :

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