Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 1. Ph D student, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.
2 Assosiate Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.
Abstract
Stigma is a social phenomenon that exposes individuals to judgment and discrimination and affects the formation of individual and social identity. The present study, with a social criticism approach and based on Erving Goffman's stigma theory, examines the representation of stigma in the formation and crisis of women's and men's identities in four contemporary Arabic novels: "Handless Fingers" by Ihsan Abdel Quddous from Egypt, "Al-Kafra" by Ali Badr from Iraq, "Al-Khattiyah" by Nasrin Ballout from Lebanon, and "Imra'a Sreesia Al-Atab" by Wassini Al-Araj from Algeria; novels that have been formed in different historical and social contexts such as war-torn societies (Iraq and Lebanon) and societies in transition from tradition to modernity (Egypt and Algeria) and depict the characters' reactions to stigma in the form of submission, resistance, or redefinition of identity. The findings of the study show that stigma is not a purely gendered phenomenon and that both male and female characters are exposed to it. In the novels “Hands Without Hands” from Egypt and “A Woman of Fast-Pained Women” from Algeria, which are set in the context of societies transitioning from tradition to modernity, the stigmatized characters show different reactions, from retreat to resistance and redefinition of identity. In contrast, in the novels “Al-Kafra” from Iraq and “Al-Khatia” from Lebanon, which are narrated in the context of war and social crisis, stigmatization leads to different paths, and in “Al-Kafra” it leads to the formation of an individual and independent identity, and in “Al-Khatia” it leads to refuge in a collective and social identity.
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