Aesthetics of the Excavations of the Spatial Environment in Nawal al-Sadwawi's Perception: Her Novel Imra'ah Inda Nuqtat al-Sifr/ Woman at a Zero Point as a Sample

Abstract

The environment of the novel is both: its Place-and-Time truth, including everything that the place includes from nature and objects, and everything that Time includes as a moving sequence or time that has its frontiers and characteristics that are connected to the age that they belong to. This means that this environment is everything that is connected to the natural medium and the morals of the characters and their lifestyles. Environment in the novel has a special concept- it is a cultural concept that is not satisfied with the total natural circumstances that surround the human being in the novel, the total social circumstances that are connected to the human being and affect his life and create the events of this life within the story. [1] The value of the Place in Nawal al-Sadawi's novels is in its representation of a fundamental theme that defines the thematic frame of the novels deal with. Consequently, it is impossible to approach Nawal al-Sadawi's textual place without being pressed by its authority, which prevents this critical approach from originating from projection of the action on the texts, and makes it an exploratory operation and selection of these texts. Thus, the Places in which the major character exists and the action of the novel turn into an existence that imposes itself on the atmospheres of the text. In this way, the Place frame turns into an aesthetic pointer that justifies the dynamics of the action and achieves its process, because every event will inevitably have a Place to contain and refer to it.Ambiguity in literature is likeable due to its attraction to the reader's attention and his suspense, but if all the literary work is wrapped by ambiguity, it cannot convey its objective as it should. We can say that this is exactly what Nawal al-Sadawi applied in her novels as she had a balanced attitude regarding ambiguity, and she succeeded in it.[2]

Keywords: Nawal al-Sadawi, excavations, place, time, environment, novel.

DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/71-03

Publication date:August 31^st 2020

[1] Bachelard, Gaston (1980) The Poetics of Space. Translated as Jamaliyat al-Makan by Ghaleb Halsa. Bagdad: Dar al-Jahiz, p. 83.

[2] Al-Sharoni, Yosuf (1986). Rihlati Ma' al-Riwaya. Cairo: Dar al-Ma'aref. pp. 88-89.