Tag Archives: Fatema Mernissi
Mernissi, Fatema. Scheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems. 2001. Washington Square Press, USA.
Mernissi bases this book on a modern interpretation and evaluation of the famous fables spun by a woman to ensure her survival; stories considered so subversive because of her success in not only surviving, but empowering her to change the mind of her absolute ruler.
Thus the author believes that, "dialogue-nurturing is considered magic, because it fuels power with beauty." A heady combination that has delighted listeners and readers in many cultures for years, so her comparison of the harem of spatial confinement, a place she returns to in much Read more [...]
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Mernissi, Fatema. DREAMS OF TRESPASS: TALES OF A HAREM CHILDHOOD. 1994. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. USA, UK, Canada.
This is a memoir about life of women in Morocco living under the social and physical constraints of the harem. There are many happy moments as women live with joy and companionship within this framework. Mernissi is a wonderful writer – her descriptions of her relatives and family life are colourful and affectionate.
Her carefree life ends with end of childhood; she learns of her powerlessness in this male dominated society. She is told by her female elders, “Childhood is when the difference does not matter. From now on, you won’t be Read more [...]
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