Women & Gender Quiz 2

“A tall erect figure in a fez and a European suit”

who is she talking about?

the girl’s father

“A tall erect figure in a fez and a European suit”

what does erect mean & why is it important?

erect - upright; shows his importance, status, authority; power

“A tall erect figure in a fez and a European suit”

what do the fez & suit suggest?

father is holding onto Arab roots; status; French influence; tension; ambiguous life between 2 cultures; sign of modernity

why do the neighbors believe girls shouldn’t be educated?

girls will be able to form their own thoughts and want more for themselves, won’t subjugate to their husbands; challenges the culture

what do the neighbors think will happen if girls learn to write?

girls will write the “fatal letter”

what do the neighbors think girls will write?

“fatal letter” - love letter

what do the neighbors represent?

the society, the microcosm of society

who lives in the “windowless houses” & why?

women since they shouldn’t be outside

what does the “windowless houses” suggest?

women need to be closeted inside, outside is a space for men

what idea does Djebar want to put forth in “windowless houses”?

women need to be closeted inside, outside is a space for men, women are distracting to men

“So wrap the nubile girl in veils. Make her invisible. Make her more unseeing than the sightless, destroy in her every memory of the world without. […] The jailerwho guards a body that has no words…may sleep in peace: it will suffice to brick up the windows, padlock the sole entrance door, and erect a blank wall rising up to heaven”

what do the words in bold suggest?

sets an imperative mood; orders; reinforces idea of subjugation

“So wrap the nubile girl in veils. Make her invisible. Make her more unseeing than the sightless, destroy in her every memory of the world without. […] The jailerwho guards a body that has no words…may sleep in peace: it will suffice to brick up the windows, padlock the sole entrance door, and erect a blank wall rising up to heaven”

what is conveyed by the presence of a jailer?

inprisonment

“I set off at dawn, with my little girl’s hand in mine”

how is this different from the beginning of the story?

instead of a father taking a girl to school, the mother takes her

“I set off at dawn, with my little girl’s hand in mine”

why is this important?

shows a shift in trad., man isn’t the figure of authority

what is Martin Heidegger’s concept?

MItsein

what does mitsein mean?

being with

what is the concept of mitsein?

“Our experience of the world, of ourselves and existence is always already shaped by our relations with other people and by the social and cultural contexts in which we find ourselves.”