The
Inherent Truth About Being a Woman
Memories Of A Woman
Doctor (Muz\akkara>t T{abi>bah) is the result of the author's exploration of a novels theme that was
rarely worked on in Egypt at that time (in 1958), considering that this novel
discusses the life of a woman who experiences discrimination and intimidation
for women. This novel became controversial at the time, censored by the
government, and was deleted in several parts. Now, this novel is considered
still relevant, even though the original manuscript has been lost.
The
characterization of the Muz\akkara>t T{abi>bah is different from other novels which often judge
someone's bad nature only through criminal figures. It is precisely through the
main character of a "I" who is outwardly sacred. Muz\akkara>t
T{abi>bah novels try to show good
and bad inner honesty in a person. The main character "I" along the
story is described as having a person who is still shackled by bad thoughts
about herself that influence her motivation in doing everything. Sometimes she
blames her nature as a woman, as seen in the following quote:
لم تكن دموعي الأولى في حياتي لأني فشلتُ في مدرستي، أو لأني كسرتُ شيئًا غاليًا، ولكنْ لأني بنت. (نوال
السعداوي، ١٩٩٠: ٢)
Translation: "The first real tears that I
spilled in my life were not because I was not good at school or because I had
broken a valuable object, but because I was a girl." (Mochtar, 2005: 3)
The character and behavior of
the main characters who contradict this makes the Muz\akkara>t
T{abi>bah seem to tell the true
life of women.
Muz\akkara>t T{abi>bah bah also raises a big vision that is aimed at
changing people's views about women. It is so important to know the true
essence of women again, it is even a loss if you just leave the problem about
this woman. Starting from intelligence, they are the presence or absence of
future generations that are strong, intelligent, and have moral character
because they are the main educators for a child.
Muz\akkara>t T{abi>bah by Nawa>l Al-Sa’da>wi> raises important issues about the life of a woman who
wants to channel her life experiences, both in the form of ideals, feelings,
ideas, and thoughts related reality and assumptions that do not support the
existence of women in the community or in their families. This issue is packed
in stories inspired by Nawal's life l when she was a child until she grew up.
This novel can be enjoyed by various generations because it allows the reader
to understand a human experience of the struggle and inner conflict of a woman in
living her life towards the stage of maturity. The theme of a woman's struggle
is reflected in the main character who strives to achieve what she wants, which
is to get equal recognition and treatment in her family and environment.
The main
character in this novel is the figure "I", a woman who from a young
age received different treatment from her family over her brother. Through the
main character "I" who is outwardly sacred, this novel tries to show
inner honesty in the form of kindness and evil in a woman who feels unfair with
the treatment she gets. The "I" figure throughout the story is
described as having a person who is still bound by bad thoughts about herself,
due to the treatment of those around her. This sometimes makes the character
"I" misunderstand her environment, fight herself, and blame her
nature as a woman. Until the end of the story, the figure "I"
realized that so far she had tortured herself a lot. She also succeeded in
defeating all the bad thoughts about her and realized that the battles she had
been running all this time had distanced her.
January 2019
By: Athiyyah Rahmah Zamrud
