‘Many Kinds of Strong Voices’:
Transnational Encounters and Literary Ambassadorship in the
Fiction of Margaret Atwood and Hanan Al-Shaykh
Sali Karmi
PhD in English
University of Exeter
December 2008
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‘Many Kinds of Strong Voices’:
Transnational Encounters and Literary Ambassadorship in the
Fiction of Margaret Atwood and Hanan Al-Shaykh
Submitted By
Sali Nasib Karmi
to the University of Exeter as a Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English in
the Department of English, School of Arts, Languages and Literatures.
December 2008
This thesis is available for library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and
that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgment.
I certify that all the material in this thesis, which is not my work has been identified and
that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by
this or any other university.
Sali Nasib Karmi: ………………
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ABSTRACT
This research began as an attempt to question to what extent a politics of solidarity
and the evolution of a ‘transnational feminism’ which travels across borders can be
established within Arab and Western literary novels. While this study, in spirit, takes its
lead from the call for ‘feminism without borders’ within the writings of two contemporary
women writers, the Canadian Margaret Atwood and the Lebanese Hanan Al-Shaykh, it
responds to the notion of transnationalism and literary ambassadorship from the perspective
of Arab-Western relations. This process raises key questions for the reading of women’s
writings across sensitive cultural divides: How can the literary contributions of Margaret
Atwood and Hanan Al-Shaykh help in reshaping the form and content of a transnational
and cultural interaction between the Arab World and the West? Do women writers
articulate their concerns in the same manner across cultures? To what extent can literature
cross borders and be fully engaged within diverse women’s concerns? And what might
hinder the circulation of a transnational literary interaction?
These contemporary women writers have been studied in the belief that their novels
are committed to a transnational feminist agenda. Both writers place their feminist concerns
within a national framework that they constantly negotiate. However, this comparison to
test the value of women’s writings across borders has been challenged by a more complex
study of factors that intervene along the way. The politics of reception, the processes of
production, circulation, and consumption of the writers’ literary texts, the writers’ own
shifting allegiances moving from nationalism to broader multicultural, cosmopolitan and
transnational frameworks, are all factors to be taken into account. These factors have a
direct impact on the context through which the literary texts have to be studied. Hence, this
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study seeks to contribute to this task by showing how these writers are engaged in the
process of adjusting, reconstructing and even transcending their cultural milieus.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. CHAPTER ONE: Towards a Transnational Feminist Literature
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1.1 Transnational Western and Arab Feminisms: The Politics of Difference
1.2 Western Feminism and Arab Feminism: Similarities
1.3 ‘In the Name of Transnationality’: Why Atwood and Al-Shaykh?
1.4 Transnational Consciousness and Comparative Literature
1.5 Hanan Al-Shaykh’s Upbringing and Career
1.6 Margaret Atwood’s Upbringing and Career
II. CHAPTER TWO: The Politics of Reception: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s
Tale and Hanan Al-Shaykh’s Women of Sand and Myrrh
2.1 Orientalism in The Handmaid’s Tale and the Politics of Reception
2.2 Reception Theory
2.3 Dystopia and Atwood’s Political Imagining
2.4 Narrating the Story: A Brief Summary of the Plot
2.5 An Oriental Reading of the ‘Transnational’ Handmaid’s Tale
2.6 The Politics of Reception
2.7 Conclusion
2.8 Entangled Loyalties: Hanan Al-Shaykh’s Women of Sand and Myrrh
2.9 Women of Sand and Myrrh: A Synopsis
2.10 Different Receptions of Women of Sand and Myrrh
2.11 Western Receptions of Women of Sand and Myrrh
2.12 The Arab Reception of Misk al-Ghazal
2.13 Media Production and the Celebrity Face of the Novelist: The Case of
Margaret Atwood
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2.14 The New Schehrazade Hanan Al-Shaykh: Riding the Celebrity Wave
2.15 Selling, Reading, and Consuming Arab Women Writers and the Image of AlShaykh
2.16 Conclusion
III. CHAPTER THREE: Nationalism and Literary Ambassadorship: Hanan Al-Shaykh’s
Beirut Blues
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3.1 Contextualizing the History of the Lebanese Civil War
3.2 City of Guilt: Beirut Blues – The Story
3.3 Nationalism and Gender Roles
3.4 Nation, Home and War: Reflections on Border-Crossings
3.5 Beirut: A City of Diversity
3.6 Conclusion
IV. CHAPTER FOUR: ‘A Culture of One’s Own’: Cosmopolitanism and Alternative
Diplomacy in Hanan Al-Shaykh’s Only in London
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4.1 Cosmopolitanism and the Politics of Cities
4.2 Cities through Al-Shaykh’s Personal Lens
4.3 Only in London: The Story
4.4 East Meets West: A Love Story
4.5 City of Reconciliation: Exploring London’s Arabic Face
4.6 Conclusion
V. CHAPTER FIVE: Margaret Atwood’s National and International Diplomacy 197
5.1 Constructing Canadian National-Feminist Identity in the 1970s
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5.2 Atwood’s Canadian-American Encounter of the 1980s
5.3 Canada and Beyond: Bodily Harm and The Handmaid’s Tale
5.4 Three Short Stories of East-West Encounters
5.5 Conclusion: Encountering the 1990s
VI. CHAPTER SIX: Universal Themes, Transnational Encounters: Margaret Atwood’s
Cat’s Eye and Oryx and Crake, and Hanan Al-Shaykh’s The Story of
Zahra
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6.1 Transnational Feminists’ Responses to Global Patriarchy: Cat’s Eye and The
Story of Zahra
6.2 Mothering Relationality
6.3 Negotiating Feminism
6.4 Margaret Atwood’s Transnationalism: Locating the Middle East in Cat’s Eye
6.5 The Global World of Oryx and Crake
6.6 Conclusion
CONCLUSION
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WORKS CITED
303
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research would not have been possible without the generous three-year
scholarship that I was granted from the Applied Science University in Amman-Jordan. I
wish to thank Professor Ziad Ramadan, the President, Mr. Haytham Abu Khadijeh, and the
Vice-President, Dr. Issam Abu Salim not only for their generosity, but also for their trust,
which I will appreciate for ever.
My deepest thanks and gratitude go to Dr. Jane Poyner, my academic supervisor, for
sharing her time, expertise, and invaluable insights. Jane has provided constructive
criticism and pushed me towards intellectual development. I would also like to thank Dr.
Margaretta Jolly, my former supervisor and Ashley Tauchert, my mentor, for their help and
support.
I dearly wish to thank the novelist, Hanan Al-Shaykh, a true ‘transnational’. Hanan
has been kind and welcoming in receiving my phone calls, and accepting my invitation to
interview her during her visit to the University of Exeter in 2007. I am grateful for many
helpful insights into her fiction, and for her generosity in offering me copies of her novels
and useful Arabic sources for her works.
I should also extend my thanks to the library staff at the University of Exeter,
especially Diane Wokman at the Main Library, Paul Auchterlonie at the Old Library, and
the Inter-Library Loan staff for their tremendous help in locating and obtaining many
resources.
On a personal level, this project would not have been possible without the support
of many special people. In spite of long distances and busy lives, they have never failed to
express moral support. My debt to all of them is immeasurable. In Jordan, I wish to thank
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Dr. Sura Khreis and Dr. Kathem Qattous at the Applied Science University for their neverending encouragement. My respect and gratitude also go to Dr. Shawqi Al-Hurani.
My heartfelt thanks go to my family; my gratitude is boundless. I wish to thank my
parents for their endless trust. They taught me how keeping faith in Allah gives us
endurance and resilience. My parents did not only put up with my long working hours and
changing moods, but have been admirable grandparents for my children. Thank you for all
your endeavours to keep me calm. My brothers, Rani in Canada and Nadi in Jordan have
shown interest in my project and have been wonderful in giving support.
I owe a unique debt to my supportive husband, Ma’n, a true soul mate. He has
sacrificed the past four years, being away from us and meeting at intervals so I can pursue
my ambition. Thank you for your inspiring spirituality, for dealing competently with my
anxiety and for believing in my capabilities. I sincerely admire your calmness and
practicality. Thank you for also being a marvellous father to our daughters. I know that no
words can fully express my gratitude nor give you your right, but I have no doubt that you
feel them in your heart.
I dedicate this work with love to my three brightest lights, Dareen, Layan, and Jana.
You have been my great companions and helpers all the way through. I am grateful for the
many cuddles, the warm smiles, and the ‘love you, mummy’ that I generously received
through these years. Thank you for putting up with my physical illness and for waiting
patiently for my unfinished chapters to be completed. I know that at your tender age, you
will not be able to understand the sacrifice I have put you through, but I am sure one day
you will grow up and appreciate it, Insha’ Allah.