ipl-logo

Woman At Point Zero Analysis

1028 Words5 Pages
The literary text Woman at Point Zero by Nawal Al Saadawi, portrays women in a victimized manner corresponding to the social and historical context of Egypt in the 1970s. Through the first-person narrative of Firdaus, Saadawi portrays the social context of Egyptian women in the 1970s. The literary techniques used help define and characterize women in the text. Saadawi uses a variety of themes and motifs in order to further portray the role of women in Egyptian society as well as the use of symbolism. Dialogue throughout novel help highlight the separation between the genders and their roles. Saadawi applies her own personal experience as an Egyptian woman to explain the social situation of women and the motivations behind their representation in the text.

The themes present in the text include authority, sexism and respect. Firdaus’ father serves as the first male character to evidently portray the concept of authority to her and to the readers. “How to bend over the headman’s hand and pretend to kiss it, how to beat his wife and make her bite the dust each night.” (Saadawi 10) This sentence demonstrates a clear distinction between the gender roles, indicating to the readers that Egyptian society is male dominated. Nawal Al Saadawi makes use of the recurring motif of ‘captivity’ to further develop the theme of authority in the novel. Firdaus’ captivity signifies life under the dominance of men. Within the text, being a women means lacking choices. The main reason as to
Open Document