Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer

Alon Fragman

doi:doi:10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15

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Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer

Alon Fragman

Published in Arabic Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 2, Issue 1)

Received: 22 January 2017 Accepted: 8 March 2017 Published: 23 March 2017

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Abstract

This article seeks to examine the image of women as reflected in the short stories by the important Syrian author Zakaria Tāmer, which were written in the second half of the twentieth century. In light of the theoretical debate on the extent to which men can faithfully represent the female experience, this article seeks to present Tāmer’s work as writing that is by and large free of the chauvinistic male perceptions that were prevalent in Syria at the time, and as writing in which feminist perceptions are expressed with regard to the woman’s place and status at a time when “the female voice” had not yet been formulated in writing in Syria. In many of his stories Tāmer positions the woman as a central figure and creates a new (fictional) world, wherein men and women possess equal rights and status; in other stories in which the motif of the woman’s oppression is manifested, she surprises with her resourcefulness and by “breaking the rules” in protest. These perceptions are expressed even in Tāmer’s early stories. Given that the writing prevailing in Syria up to the mid-twentieth century, and to a considerable degree later as well, writing that ignores female endeavor and creativity on the one hand, and mainly presents women as maidservants or mistresses on the other, Tāmer’s work can be viewed as writing that extracts “the female voice” and accords it unique weight even in his first stories. As a writer who presents a high degree of feminist awareness in his writing, he conducts a literary-social-historical reform that embodies a challenge to intellectual and literary writing in the Arab world.

Published in	Arabic Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15
Page(s)	18-28
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Zakaria Tāmer, Syrian Short Story, Feminist Writing, Modern Arabic Literature

References

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Alon Fragman. (2017). Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer. Arabic Language, Literature & Culture, 2(1), 18-28. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15

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Alon Fragman. Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer. Arab. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2017, 2(1), 18-28. doi: 10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15

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Alon Fragman. Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer. Arab Lang Lit Cult. 2017;2(1):18-28. doi: 10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15

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@article{10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15,
  author = {Alon Fragman},
  title = {Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer},
  journal = {Arabic Language, Literature & Culture},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {18-28},
  doi = {10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.allc.20170201.15},
  abstract = {This article seeks to examine the image of women as reflected in the short stories by the important Syrian author Zakaria Tāmer, which were written in the second half of the twentieth century. In light of the theoretical debate on the extent to which men can faithfully represent the female experience, this article seeks to present Tāmer’s work as writing that is by and large free of the chauvinistic male perceptions that were prevalent in Syria at the time, and as writing in which feminist perceptions are expressed with regard to the woman’s place and status at a time when “the female voice” had not yet been formulated in writing in Syria. In many of his stories Tāmer positions the woman as a central figure and creates a new (fictional) world, wherein men and women possess equal rights and status; in other stories in which the motif of the woman’s oppression is manifested, she surprises with her resourcefulness and by “breaking the rules” in protest. These perceptions are expressed even in Tāmer’s early stories. Given that the writing prevailing in Syria up to the mid-twentieth century, and to a considerable degree later as well, writing that ignores female endeavor and creativity on the one hand, and mainly presents women as maidservants or mistresses on the other, Tāmer’s work can be viewed as writing that extracts “the female voice” and accords it unique weight even in his first stories. As a writer who presents a high degree of feminist awareness in his writing, he conducts a literary-social-historical reform that embodies a challenge to intellectual and literary writing in the Arab world.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer
AU  - Alon Fragman
Y1  - 2017/03/23
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
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AB  - This article seeks to examine the image of women as reflected in the short stories by the important Syrian author Zakaria Tāmer, which were written in the second half of the twentieth century. In light of the theoretical debate on the extent to which men can faithfully represent the female experience, this article seeks to present Tāmer’s work as writing that is by and large free of the chauvinistic male perceptions that were prevalent in Syria at the time, and as writing in which feminist perceptions are expressed with regard to the woman’s place and status at a time when “the female voice” had not yet been formulated in writing in Syria. In many of his stories Tāmer positions the woman as a central figure and creates a new (fictional) world, wherein men and women possess equal rights and status; in other stories in which the motif of the woman’s oppression is manifested, she surprises with her resourcefulness and by “breaking the rules” in protest. These perceptions are expressed even in Tāmer’s early stories. Given that the writing prevailing in Syria up to the mid-twentieth century, and to a considerable degree later as well, writing that ignores female endeavor and creativity on the one hand, and mainly presents women as maidservants or mistresses on the other, Tāmer’s work can be viewed as writing that extracts “the female voice” and accords it unique weight even in his first stories. As a writer who presents a high degree of feminist awareness in his writing, he conducts a literary-social-historical reform that embodies a challenge to intellectual and literary writing in the Arab world.
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Alon Fragman

Middle East Studies Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel

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Alon Fragman. (2017). Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer. Arabic Language, Literature & Culture, 2(1), 18-28. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15

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Alon Fragman. Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer. Arab. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2017, 2(1), 18-28. doi: 10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15

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Alon Fragman. Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer. Arab Lang Lit Cult. 2017;2(1):18-28. doi: 10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15

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@article{10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15,
  author = {Alon Fragman},
  title = {Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer},
  journal = {Arabic Language, Literature & Culture},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {18-28},
  doi = {10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.allc.20170201.15},
  abstract = {This article seeks to examine the image of women as reflected in the short stories by the important Syrian author Zakaria Tāmer, which were written in the second half of the twentieth century. In light of the theoretical debate on the extent to which men can faithfully represent the female experience, this article seeks to present Tāmer’s work as writing that is by and large free of the chauvinistic male perceptions that were prevalent in Syria at the time, and as writing in which feminist perceptions are expressed with regard to the woman’s place and status at a time when “the female voice” had not yet been formulated in writing in Syria. In many of his stories Tāmer positions the woman as a central figure and creates a new (fictional) world, wherein men and women possess equal rights and status; in other stories in which the motif of the woman’s oppression is manifested, she surprises with her resourcefulness and by “breaking the rules” in protest. These perceptions are expressed even in Tāmer’s early stories. Given that the writing prevailing in Syria up to the mid-twentieth century, and to a considerable degree later as well, writing that ignores female endeavor and creativity on the one hand, and mainly presents women as maidservants or mistresses on the other, Tāmer’s work can be viewed as writing that extracts “the female voice” and accords it unique weight even in his first stories. As a writer who presents a high degree of feminist awareness in his writing, he conducts a literary-social-historical reform that embodies a challenge to intellectual and literary writing in the Arab world.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Feminist Awareness in the Writing of the Syrian Writer Zakaria Tāmer
AU  - Alon Fragman
Y1  - 2017/03/23
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15
T2  - Arabic Language, Literature & Culture
JF  - Arabic Language, Literature & Culture
JO  - Arabic Language, Literature & Culture
SP  - 18
EP  - 28
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2639-9695
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.allc.20170201.15
AB  - This article seeks to examine the image of women as reflected in the short stories by the important Syrian author Zakaria Tāmer, which were written in the second half of the twentieth century. In light of the theoretical debate on the extent to which men can faithfully represent the female experience, this article seeks to present Tāmer’s work as writing that is by and large free of the chauvinistic male perceptions that were prevalent in Syria at the time, and as writing in which feminist perceptions are expressed with regard to the woman’s place and status at a time when “the female voice” had not yet been formulated in writing in Syria. In many of his stories Tāmer positions the woman as a central figure and creates a new (fictional) world, wherein men and women possess equal rights and status; in other stories in which the motif of the woman’s oppression is manifested, she surprises with her resourcefulness and by “breaking the rules” in protest. These perceptions are expressed even in Tāmer’s early stories. Given that the writing prevailing in Syria up to the mid-twentieth century, and to a considerable degree later as well, writing that ignores female endeavor and creativity on the one hand, and mainly presents women as maidservants or mistresses on the other, Tāmer’s work can be viewed as writing that extracts “the female voice” and accords it unique weight even in his first stories. As a writer who presents a high degree of feminist awareness in his writing, he conducts a literary-social-historical reform that embodies a challenge to intellectual and literary writing in the Arab world.
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
ER  -

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