Hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi

Hysteria is a quite common phenomenon that prevailed in the twentieth century literature, as such, for its importance, it needs to be highlighted. This thesis focuses on the female authored texts that knit hysteria in the very fabric of their material.I argue that patriarchy, subjugation, sexual vio...

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Main Author:	Abdullah, Omar Mohammed
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2016
Subjects:	Women and literature Hysteria - Juvenile literature
Online Access:	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/68918/1/FBMK%202016%2074%20-%20IR.pdf
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id	my-upm-ir.68918
record_format	uketd_dc
spelling	my-upm-ir.689182019-06-18T01:26:51Z Hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi 2016-11 Abdullah, Omar Mohammed Hysteria is a quite common phenomenon that prevailed in the twentieth century literature, as such, for its importance, it needs to be highlighted. This thesis focuses on the female authored texts that knit hysteria in the very fabric of their material.I argue that patriarchy, subjugation, sexual violation and the resulting psychologica disturbance, gnaw females‘ subjectivity and help in enacting hysteria intentionally or otherwise. Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi are postmodern feminist contemporary writers, focusing on the problems and maladies of women.In Weldon‘s Praxis and The Life and Loves of a She- Devil, and El Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero and God Dies by the Nile, hysteria surfaces on female characters‘ bodies revealing the shortcomings and problems they suffer from. In this study, hysteric subjects tear the norms imposed by individuals or the society and transform from silent subjects into revolutionary individuals. Because their bodies are invaded and haunted, female characters cannot speak and even if they can, they will not be heard. Consequently, they develop a hysteric body language and reflect what their tongues could not communicate. Using Freud‘s and Irigaray‘s concepts of hysteria alongside with Kristeva‘s concept of Abjection, I will investigate what drives women to be hysterics. Is it a consequence of sexual fantasies and a result of an earlier trauma as Freud theorized? Or is it a protest that comes out of repression and silencing practiced by the society as Irigaray puts it? What role does Abjection play in initiating or healing hysteria and absolving the subject? How can hysteria be inferred through Freudian and Irigarian ideas in certain texts? Investigating hysteria according to these readings has shown the reasons that fall behind the infliction of hysteria and simultaneously revealed, through abjection, how new identities are restructured. The hysterics rebelled against degradation, suppression and exploitation using the body as the only medium of expression and managed to restructure and actualize themselves by employing abjection. Hence, this expressive subversion becomes women's strategy to reclaim power. Women and literature Hysteria - Juvenile literature 2016-11 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/68918/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/68918/1/FBMK%202016%2074%20-%20IR.pdf text en public doctoral Universiti Putra Malaysia Women and literature Hysteria - Juvenile literature
institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection	PSAS Institutional Repository
language	English
topic	Women and literature Hysteria - Juvenile literature
spellingShingle	Women and literature Hysteria - Juvenile literature Abdullah, Omar Mohammed Hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi
description	Hysteria is a quite common phenomenon that prevailed in the twentieth century literature, as such, for its importance, it needs to be highlighted. This thesis focuses on the female authored texts that knit hysteria in the very fabric of their material.I argue that patriarchy, subjugation, sexual violation and the resulting psychologica disturbance, gnaw females‘ subjectivity and help in enacting hysteria intentionally or otherwise. Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi are postmodern feminist contemporary writers, focusing on the problems and maladies of women.In Weldon‘s Praxis and The Life and Loves of a She- Devil, and El Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero and God Dies by the Nile, hysteria surfaces on female characters‘ bodies revealing the shortcomings and problems they suffer from. In this study, hysteric subjects tear the norms imposed by individuals or the society and transform from silent subjects into revolutionary individuals. Because their bodies are invaded and haunted, female characters cannot speak and even if they can, they will not be heard. Consequently, they develop a hysteric body language and reflect what their tongues could not communicate. Using Freud‘s and Irigaray‘s concepts of hysteria alongside with Kristeva‘s concept of Abjection, I will investigate what drives women to be hysterics. Is it a consequence of sexual fantasies and a result of an earlier trauma as Freud theorized? Or is it a protest that comes out of repression and silencing practiced by the society as Irigaray puts it? What role does Abjection play in initiating or healing hysteria and absolving the subject? How can hysteria be inferred through Freudian and Irigarian ideas in certain texts? Investigating hysteria according to these readings has shown the reasons that fall behind the infliction of hysteria and simultaneously revealed, through abjection, how new identities are restructured. The hysterics rebelled against degradation, suppression and exploitation using the body as the only medium of expression and managed to restructure and actualize themselves by employing abjection. Hence, this expressive subversion becomes women's strategy to reclaim power.
format	Thesis
qualification_level	Doctorate
author	Abdullah, Omar Mohammed
author_facet	Abdullah, Omar Mohammed
author_sort	Abdullah, Omar Mohammed
title	Hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi
title_short	Hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi
title_full	Hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi
title_fullStr	Hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi
title_full_unstemmed	Hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi
title_sort	hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by fay weldon and nawal el saadawi
granting_institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
publishDate	2016
url	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/68918/1/FBMK%202016%2074%20-%20IR.pdf
_version_	1747812649383493632

Hysteria and identity formation in selected novels by Fay Weldon and Nawal El Saadawi

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