FIRDAUS’ SEARCHING FOR FREEDOM AS PORTRAYED IN NAWAL
EL-SAADAWI’S WOMAN AT POINT ZERO
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
RATNA JUWITA SHEINA PUTRI Student Number: 06 1214 140
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
FIRDAUS’ SEARCHING FOR FREEDOM AS PORTRAYED IN NAWAL
EL-SAADAWI’S WOMAN AT POINT ZERO
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
RATNA JUWITA SHEINA PUTRI Student Number: 06 1214 140
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the references, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, August 24, 2011 The Writer
Ratna Juwita Sheina Putri
v
LEMBAR PERYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH
UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Ratna Juwita Sheina Putri
Nomor Mahasiswa : 061214140
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
FIRDAUS’ SEARCHING FOR FREEDOM AS PORTRAYED IN NAWAL EL-SAADAWI’S WOMAN AT POINT ZERO
Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikannya secara terbatas, memplubikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian surat pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta,
Pada tanggal: 24 Agustus 2011
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I praise Allah, the supreme being of all, for all of His Love and Blessing. I thank Allah for staying by my side, protecting me in any situation I have encountered in my life, listening to my prays, and guiding me in my study so that I was finally able to finish this thesis.
I would like to express my deepest gratitute to Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto Y., M.Hum., who has guided me patiently in the process of writing this thesis. I thank him for his patience, advices, and time for consultation on this thesis until it was done. My gratitude also goes to Sanata Dharma University that has given me a place and facilities to study. It also goes to all my lecturers and secretary staffs of PBI study program who have devoted themselves to help me during my study in Sanata Dharma University.
With greatest gratitude, I thank my beloved family. It is for my wonderful father and mother, Sumardi Seno, Sm.Hk. and Dra. Suciningrum. I thank them for their love, attentions, prayers, supports, and efforts to make me educated. It is also for my beloved brothers and sisters Surya, Burhan, Windu, and Ririn for their encouragements and helps in my study.
My special thanks go to my best man Gilang Mahardhika for being the best man of everything. I also want to praise my friends in PBI study program; Yoana, Indi, Nana, Satrio, Wiwit, and Ichaq who have been so kind to me and provided me with supports and prayers. Last but not least, I would like to thank all people that I cannot mention one by one, who have given me supports and helps in finishing my thesis. May God bless them all.
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... i
PAGE OF APPROVAL ... ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... v
PAGE OF DEDICATION ... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii
ABSTRACT ... xii
ABSTRAK ... xiii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1 Background of the Study ... 1
1.2 Problem Formulation ... 4
1.3 Objectives of the Study ... 5
1.4 Benefits of the Study ... 5
1.5 Definition of Terms ... 5
1.5.1 Freedom ... 6
1.5.2 Egypt ... 6
1.5.3 Society ... 6
1.5.4 Women’s Right ... 6
ix
1.5.6 Islamic Law ... 7
1.5.7 Motivation ... 7
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ... 8
2.1 Review of Related Studies ... 8
2.2 Theoretical Review ... 11
2.2.1 Critical Approach ... 11
2.2.2 Motivation ... 12
2.2.3 Freedom ... 14
2.3 Historical Background ... 15
2.3.1 The Twentieth Century Egyptian Society ... 15
2.3.2 Egyptian Laws ... 17
2.3.3 Egyptian Social Classes ... 18
2.3.3.1 Egyptian Higher and Middle Classes ... 19
2.3.3.2 Egyptian Lower Classes ... 20
2.3.3.3 Egyptian Children ... 21
2.3.4 Egyptian Women in the Twentieth Century ... 22
2.3.4.1 Women’s Position in Egyptian Society ... 22
2.3.4.1.1 Egyptian Women and Family ... 25
2.3.4.1.2 Egyptian Women and Education ... 26
2.3.4.1.3 Egyptian Women and the Work Place ... 26
2.3.4.1.3 Egyptian Women and Politics ... 27
2.3.4.1.4 Egyptian Women and Law ... 27
2.3.4.1.5 Egyptian Women and Health ... 30
x
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ... 32
3.1 Object of the Study ... 32
3.2 Approach of the Study ... 33
3.3 Method of the Study ... 33
CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS ... 35
4.1 The Condition of Egyptian Society as Portrayed in the Novel ... 35
4.1.1 Patriarchal Society ... 35
4.1.2 Egyptian Social Strata ... 37
4.2 Society’s Treatments toward Women as Portrayed by the Character Firdaus in the Novel ... 41 4.2.1 As a Daughter ... 41
4.2.2 As a Wife ... 46
4.2.3 As a Female Employee ... 47
4.2.4 As a Female Prostitute ... 50
4.3 Firdaus’ Searching for Freedom ... 54
4.3.1 The Causes of Firdaus’ Searching for Freedom ... 54
4.3.1.1 The Men’s Domination in Firdaus’ Society ... 55
4.3.1.2 The Society’s Bad Treatments toward Women ... 56
4.3.1.3 Firdaus’ Apathy of Love ... 58
4.3.1.4 Firdaus’ Hatred toward Men ... 60
4.3.1.5 Firdaus’ Need of Freedom ... 63
4.3.2 Firdaus’ Ways in Searching for Freedom ... 63
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4.3.2.2 Killing Her Pimp ... 66
4.3.2.3 Accepting the Death Sentence ... 69
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ... 71
5.1 Conclusions ... 71
5.2 Suggestions ... 74
5.2.1 Suggestions for Future Researchers ... 74
5.2.2 Suggestions for Teachers ... 74
5.2.2.1 The Implementation of Teaching Basic Writing by Using Woman at Point Zero ... 74
REFERENCES ... 77
APPENDICES ...
-1-APPENDIX 1 Summary of the Novel ... -2-
APPENDIX 2 Biography of Nawal El-Saadawi ... -6-
APPENDIX 3 Lesson Plan to Teach Basic Writing ... -10-
APPENDIX 4 Lesson Plan of Basic Writing ... -13-
APPENDIX 5 Teaching Material ... -16-
APPENDIX 6 Pictures of Nawal El-Saadawi ... -20-
xii ABSTRACT
Putri, Ratna Juwita Sheina (2011): Firdaus’ Searching for Freedom as Portrayed in Nawal El-Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero. Yogyakarta: Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
The novel Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El-Saadawi tells about a woman named Firdaus. On her life, Firdaus is always put under men’s power around her. She has to be depended on men and has no freedom at all. Then, she struggles for freedom. At the end of the story, Firdaus is sentenced to death because she kills a pimp who tries to take over her life. She refuses to sign an appeal to the President that her sentence to death is commuted to imprisonment for life.
This study aims to answer three problems. The first is to describe the society background in the novel. The second is to portray society’s treatments toward women in the novel. The third is to identify Firdaus’ motivations for struggling for her freedom.
This thesis employed a library research where the information could be found from the books related to the topic. There were two kinds of sources. The primary source was the novel itself. The secondary sources were several books related to the theory of the literary term, the theory of motivation, the theory of freedom, and the historical background of the story.
This thesis used the psychological and sociocultural-historical approaches to describe society background and society's treatments toward women in the novel, and to find out Firdaus' motivations for struggling for her freedom.
xiii ABSTRAK
Putri, Ratna Juwita Sheina (2011): Firdaus’ Searching for Freedom as Portrayed in Nawal El-Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Novel Woman at Point Zero yang ditulis oleh Nawal El-Saadawi menceritakan tentang seorang perempuan bernama Firdaus. Sepanjang hidupnya, Firdaus selalu berada dibawah kekuasaan laki di sekitarnya. Ia harus bergantung kepada laki-laki dan tidak memiliki kebebasan sama sekali. Oleh karena itu, ia berjuang untuk mendapatkan kebebasan. Di akhir cerita, Firdaus dihukum mati karena membunuh seorang mucikari yang mencoba mengambil alih hidupnya. Ia menolak menandatangani permohonan kepada Presiden agar hukumannya diringankan menjadi penjara seumur hidup.
Skripsi ini bertujuan untuk menjawab tiga permasalahan. Pertama, untuk mengetahui latar belakang masyarakat di dalam novel. Kedua, untuk mengetahui perlakuan masyarakat terhadap perempuan di dalam novel. Dan ketiga, untuk mencari tahu apakah motivasi Firdaus dalam memperjuangkan kebebasannya.
Skripsi ini menerapkan penelitian pustaka yang didapat dari buku-buku yang berhubungan dengan topik. Terdapat dua jenis sumber. Sumber utama adalah novel itu sendiri. Sumber kedua adalah beberapa buku yang berhubungan dengan kesusastraan, motivasi, kebebasan dan sejarah budaya.
Skripsi ini menerapkan pendekatan psikologis dan sosial-historis untuk mendeskripsikan latar belakang sosial dan perlakuan masyarakat terhadap perempuan di dalam novel, dan untuk mengetahui motivasi Firdaus dalam memperjuangkan kebebasannya.
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents background of the study. In brief, it is about women in Egypt as one of Islamic countries. It also covers problem formulation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms. The problem formulation is consisted of three questions to be analyzed in this thesis. The objectives of the study describe purposes of writing this thesis. Benefits of the study explain about what are the benefits of the study and who can get benefits from it. In the last part of this chapter, some explanations of some terms related to the study are presented to avoid misunderstanding.
1.1 Background of Study
Egypt is one example of Islamic countries. The Arab invasion in Egypt in 639 introduced a new religion and a different language in Egypt, which were Islam and Arabic respectively. The impact of Islam and Arabic on the Egyptian society could not be underestimated. Within a period of five hundred years, Egypt became an Arabic speaking country. Further, by the ninth century Egypt became an Arab Muslim society. Egypt as a part of Islamic world used Islamic law to regulate the country. The Islamic law gave contributions to Egyptian thought, belief and tradition (Vatikiotis 25).
Being and all human beings are creatures of God. Through the concept of Tawhid, it becomes clear that humans as God's creatures are all the same while the higher being upon all is God. Therefore, no man is superior by the nature of his gender alone. In fact, the most honored humans in the sight of God are those who are the most pious. Koran also states that male and female believers are each other's walis. The word walis refers to the protectors or guardians. It means that these two genders should protect or guard each other. Therefore, there is no reason for men to dominate women.
Through these views of equality in Islam that are explained before, it is ironic that the discrimination of women in an Islamic country still exists. Although women in some countries have an equal position with men in society, in a certain Islamic country like Egypt, women are still considered to have a lower position than men. The patriarchal society in Egypt is very strong. Humm describes that patriarchal system is a system with male authority strongly dominates its social, political, and economic institution (408). Women are kept down in many aspects of their life. They have been shut at home, are not allowed to eat before their husbands are full and do not deserve to get a high level of education as what men can get. Qosim Amin, an Egyptian writer in describing Egyptian women says that from the time of her birth to the time of her death a woman is a slave because she does not live by or for herself. A woman lives through and for the man, and depends on him for all her needs (18).
result, she has no power to have her freedom. So she searches for freedom to make her life better.
Abraham Maslow (qtd in Petri 302-304) proposes a theory of human motivation called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is portrayed as a pyramid consisting of five levels. They are physiological needs, safety needs, love needs, esteem needs, and self actualization. Human behaviours depend on their motivation. If a person fails to fulfil his or her needs, the needs will emerge and motivate him or her to fulfil his or her needs. As Firdaus fails to fulfill her needs of freedom, her motivation to get a freedom increases. To fulfill her freedom, she even ignores the power of a society toward its people. She refuses to conform society's expectation toward women and dares to break the society's rule regardless of what the consequences may be. Thus, these become the reasons for choosing Woman at Point Zero, a novel by an Egyptian writer, Nawal El-Saadawi and present the issue
of her motivation in searching for freedom.
Nawal El-Saadawi’s famous novel, Woman at Point Zero reflects such realities. This book was published in 1983. In this novel, Saadawi portrays the main character as a female who struggles for her freedom and revolts against the society's rule. Woman at Point Zero tells about a woman named Firdaus. She is a woman who comes from a poor family who realizes that she is being differentiated from men. She struggles to get her freedom on many ways. She desires to get a high education and she becomes a prostitute to prove that she is independent and has a power over her own body. At the end of the story, Firdaus is sentenced to death because she kills a pimp who tries to take over her life. She refuses to sign an appeal to the President that her sentence to death is commuted to imprisonment for life.
Woman at Point Zero, a novel by Nawal El-Saadawi, is one example of
Egyptian novel which criticizes unfair treatments to women in Egypt. This novel tells about a women’s struggle in an Islamic country to get her freedom which she has never gotten. She fights against the society and the view that women’s position is lower than men. This is the voice of a woman in an Islamic country who asks for her right. This novel is ironic, very strong and gives an inspiration to the reader. The reader will feel sad, curious and proud at the same time. Because of the uniqueness of the novel, it is very interesting to discuss.
1.2 Problem Formulation
will be formulated as follows:
1. How is Egyptian society portrayed in the novel Woman at Point Zero? 2. How does the society treat women as portrayed by the character of
Firdaus in the novel?
3. Why does Firdaus struggle to get her freedom?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The purpose of the study is to know about women in Egypt as portrayed by Firdaus in the novel. By observing her life, we can know how the society treats women in Egypt and find out Firdaus’ motivation in getting her freedom.
1.4 Benefits of the Study
By analyzing the novel Woman at Point Zero, we will find out a woman searching for freedom in Egypt. The main character of the novel, Firdaus, revolts against the society to get her freedom that she has never had before. However, this study is not only important for women, but also for men. By reading this study, I hope the readers will see woman's freedom from a different angle and concern more to the issue of gender discrimination is such an Islamic country. Hopefully, this study will raise our awareness toward women's right and women's harrashment issues.
1.5 Definition of Terms
make the readers understand the content of the study better. Some of those terms are:
1.5.1 Freedom
According to Bay, freedom means self expressions. It refers to a person's capacity, opportunity, and motivation to express himself freely (15). In this study, freedom means Firdaus' capacity, opportunity, and motivation to express herself freely.
In this study, freedom means a woman’s capacity, opportunity, and motivation to express herself freely from men’s power and domination.
1.5.2 Egypt
Webster's Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language defines
Egypt as a republic of North East Africa; 386,186 square miles, of which about 12,000 square miles are cultivated; capital, Cairo; divided into Lower Egypt, the Nile Delta, and Upper Egypt, the Nile Valley between a point of few miles south of Cairo and the Sudan (404). Egypt is the setting on where the story in the novel is located.
1.5.3 Society
Folliet defines society as a system, which are stable and organized of relations among people which share a common end view which are considered as good (6).
1.5.4 Women's right
Guenena and Wassef in their book Unfulfilled Promises: Women's Rights in Egypt define women's right as the right of women that is equal toward men within
(3).
1.5.5 Koran
Shorther Encyclopaedia of Islam defines Koran as the sacred book of the
Muhammadans, contains the collected revelations of Muhammad in definite written form (273).
1.5.6 Islamic Law
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World defines Islamic law
(Shari'a) as a comprehensive law which combines a Muslim's duties to God and to society, incorporating regulations governing prayer and fasting as well as family, penal, and international law (245).
1.5.7 Motivation
8
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter presents a review of related literature. The discussions are divided into four major parts, namely review of related studies, theoretical review, sociocultural and historical background, and theoretical framework. The previous study of Nawal El-Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero done by three researchers will be presented in the review of related studies. In the theoretical review, theory of critical approach, theory of motivation, and theory of freedom are reviewed. In the sociocultural and historical background, there is an explanation about Egypt which covers the twentieth century Egyptian society, Egyptian law and Egyptian social strata. The Egyptian women on the twentieth century will also be presented. The theoretical framework provides information about why and how those theories are applied.
2.1 Review of Related Studies
There are some studies on Woman at Point Zero written by a famous Egyptian writer Nawal El-Saadawi. Some of them are Firdaus' Motivation in Becoming a Prostitute as Revealed in Nawal El-Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero by
Rigen Pratitisari (2001), Feminism as Reflected in Nawal El-Saadawi's Novel Woman at Point Zero by Yulia Ong (2004), and A Study of the Main Character's
Motivations for Accepting the Death Sentence in Nawal El-Saadawi's Woman at
Point Zero by Dewi Maharani Purba (2006).
Firdaus' Motivation in Becoming a Prostitute as Revealed in Nawal El-Saadawi's
Woman at Point Zero by Rigen Pratitisari (2001) analyzes a life of a female
prostitute in a society dominated by men. It discusses two problems. They are how a society can give an enormous influence upon one's perspective and character and the reasons of a woman's decision to be a prostitute which actually against the society's norms. In this study, the psychological approach is used to analyze the reason upon Firdaus' decision in becoming a prostitute. It also employs sociocultural-historical approach to examine a society's contribution toward someone's life. The conclusion of the study is that a society can give a big contribution to its citizens because society can shape one's character. It also concludes that prostitution is viewed as the only way for women in patriarchal society to be free from men's domination. This study gives a contribution to the study. It gives a clear explanation about the men's domination toward women in Egypt as a patriarchal society. It also gives knowledge that society treatments toward women in Egypt drive the main character in the novel become a prostitute.
A study entitles Feminism as Reflected in Nawal El-Saadawi's Novel Woman at Point Zero was done by Yulia Ong (2004) discusses two problems. The
further, this concept of feminism can give knowledge about women's struggle against men's domination in Egypt at that time.
The study by Dewi Maharani Purba entitles A study of the Main Character's Motivations for Accepting the Death Sentence in Nawal El-Saadawi's Woman at
Point Zero (2006). This study embodies the emotional situation of Firdaus until she
decides to refuse to live and accept the death sentence. It discusses three problems. The first problem is how Firdaus as the main character in the novel is described. The second problem is how the society is portrayed in the novel. The third problem is what motivates Firdaus to accept the death sentence. This study applies two approaches. They are psychological and socio-cultural approach. The psychological approach explains about human motivation, personality and behavior patterns written in a literary object. This approach is used to find the Firdaus' characters to answer the focus of the study which is Firdaus' motivation in accepting the death sentence. The second approach, socio-cultural approach, is used to represent the society condition at that time to support the writer in finding Firdaus' motivation of accepting the death sentence. The result of the study shows Firdaus' characters which are innocent, silent, though, brave, determined, smart, independent, and sensitive. The findings of the study help to know Firdaus' characters.
Each study on the novel Woman at Point Zero takes a different aspect. The study conducted by Rigen Pratitisari entitled Firdaus' Motivation in Becoming a Prostitute as Revealed in Nawal El-Saadawi's Woman at Point Zeromainly focuses
character Firdaus. The study conducted by Dewi Maharani Purba entitled A Study of the Main Character's Motivations for Accepting the Death Sentence in Nawal
El-Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero mainly discusses about Firdaus’ motivation of
accepting the death sentence. Meanwhile, the title of this study is Firdaus' Searching for Freedom as portrayed in Nawal El-Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero.
Therefore, this study focuses on how Egyptian women search for freedom from men’s domination and power as portrayed by the character Firdaus in the novel. In this thesis, the social background and the society’s treatments toward women as shown by the character of Firdaus in the novel are also going to be analyzed. The analysis of Firdaus' searching for freedom is broken down into two parts. The first part is Firdaus’ motivations on searching for freedom. The second part focuses on the ways how Firdaus searches for freedom.
2.2 Theoretical Review
2.2.1 Critical Approach
In giving their response to literary works, people apply an approach or approaches depending on what they focus on. Roughberger and Woods, Jr offer five approaches that can be implemented in the study of literature. They are the formalist approach, the biographical approach, the sociocultural-historical approach, the mythopoeic approach, and the psychological approach (3). In conducting this study, the psychological and the sociocultural-historical approaches are chosen and the explanation following would only explain about these two approaches.
reference to the accuracy in the presentation of historical facts. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct the analysis of cultural and historical backgrounds as references to the further understanding of the story. The second approach, the psychological approach, is an approach that investigates behaviour of the characters as a human being (Roughberger and Woods, Jr 13-15). From the psychological point of view of human beings, the reasons and motivations behind the actions of the characters may be explained.
2.2.2 Motivation
Human behaviours depend on their motivation. Maslow (qtd in Petri 302-304) proposes a theory of human motivation called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is portrayed as a pyramid consisting of five levels. They are physiological needs, safety needs, love needs, esteem needs, and self actualization. If the needs of the lower level have not been satisfied yet, the needs above will not be considered as important. The individual is in an emergence situation when she is dominated by the needs, and when the needs are met, the next need of the hierarchy emerges.
Maslow's theory of human motivation emphasizes the striving to reach one's full potential as basic to human motivation. He believes that a person should search for her ultimate goals of behaviour rather than the superficial goals. This is because her apparent goals might be different from the ultimate goals. Therefore, Maslow considers self actualization, which actually a form of a struggle of rightness as the ultimate purpose of behaviour.
When these needs cannot be fulfilled, human body may feel sickness, pain, and discomfort. In short, physiological needs are the needs to maintain the internal state of the body (qtd in Petri 302).
Safety needs occur after physiological needs are fully satisfied. It is in this level that human search for stability and security. It includes personal security, financial security, health and well-being, and safety against accident or illness. Maslow also states that safety needs could also be fulfilled by having familiar surroundings, secure jobs, saving accounts, and insurance (qtd in Petri 303).
After physical and safety needs are fulfilled, love needs are next on the third level of the pyramid. This aspect of hierarchy of needs deals with emotionally-based human relationship, namely friendship and intimacy. Humans need to feel loved by others, to be accepted by others, and to have a desire to belong to groups, such as family, gangs, clubs, and work groups. The love needs require both receiving and giving of love (qtd in Petri 303).
Esteem needs presents human desire to be respected and valued by others. There are two distinctions of esteem needs, a lower one and a higher one. The lower one is the needs for gaining status, fame, prestige, and recognition by others, while the higher one is the needs for self-esteem, self-confidence, independence, and freedom (qtd in Petri 304).
the world. This will enable the person to be a full person she wants to be.
2.2.3 Freedom
Freedom means self expressions. It refers to a person's capacity, opportunity, and motivation to express himself freely (Bay 15). There are two basic types of freedom. According to Warbungton, they are negative and positive freedom. A negative freedom is a chance of someone to do something. However, a positive freedom is more than only having the chance to act; it is an action that a person can actually do (5-10).
Bay mentions three aspects of freedom; psychological freedom, social freedom, and potential freedom (83). The first aspect of freedom is psychological freedom. There are two basic components of psychological freedom. They are knowing themselves and being themselves. Knowing themselves means that the person knows his motivation why he does a particular behavior. Being themselves means that the person has the ability to do a particular behavior as what he wants. In summary, psychological freedom is both of a person’s motivation to do a particular behavior and the ability to do it (Bay 88).
The second aspect of freedom is social freedom. Bay defines social freedom as a person's awareness of external limitations on practicing his freedom. External limitations are everything that is external to the person; such as social institutions, social system, and other person's freedom. In other word, the person’s awareness of external limitations is the main idea of social freedom (88-89).
To maintain a balance among one individual freedom and the other's, there are limitations of freedom. According to Bay there are three kinds of the limitations of freedom. They are defensiveness, rewards and punishments, and manipulation. Defensiveness may also means a person's carefulness. It refers to a person's ability to defense his freedom upon the other people. The use of rewards and punishments to limit one's freedom is when a person strongly wants to do something, or when he is still able to do something he wants but he has to be punished or losts a reward as the consequence for his behavior. Manipulation is when a person thinks about good things or bad things from his behavior. These good things or bad things may encourage or discourage his will to do a particular behavior (16-17).
2.3 Historical Background
2.3.1 The Twentieth Century Egyptian Society
During the twentieth century, many progresses happened in Egypt. The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 caused the fall of the monarchy of King Farouk. Then, it led to the impermanent installation of a government under Naguib, the short lived president of the revolutionary council. At the same year, educational reforms in Egypt began, including the installation of free and also compulsory public education for children ages 6-12 with co-education at a primary level. The government assigned a priority to the goal of destroying the people inability to read, which found difficulty caused by the lack of facilities in some rural areas (Braziel 2010).
era, Egypt became the superpower country with a huge influence in the Middle East. Nasser then turned Egypt into a socialist dictatorship with absolute power in the hands of the President. Due to the rise of socialism in Egypt, it then led to the destroying of social reforms; including the right of women to run for political office and also the Muslim Brotherhood. Under President Nasser, in 1955 family planning were opened and state efforts to control population growth took place for the first time. It also began a two decade period of migration into urban areas, such as Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Port Said, where economic and educational opportunities were greater. In 1962, the drafting of The National Charter, which claimed egalitarianism for men and women was formally approved. By the approving of The National Charter, the period of feminism in Egypt has started. The first wave of feminism in Egypt was closely associated with the influences of late colonialism, modernization, and westernization in Egypt, which caused the critical way of thinking of many feminists and post colonial leaders.
In 1967, Egypt was defeated by Israel in the Egyptian-Israeli war (the Yemeni War). It then increased the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic fundamentalism. In the final years of Nasserism, Egypt witnessed the decline of socialist policies and the weakening of the Marxist or socialist democratic state.
proper in Egypt. The women obligation of veiling began to increase in the 1980s (Sharp 4).
Under Sadat’s increasing control of political thought, the arresting of many Egyptian intellectuals, including Saadawi happened in 1981. Sadat’s rule ended in 1981, when he was assassinated during a military parade in Cairo by soldiers who belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood (Sharp 5).
The focus of this thesis is about Egyptian women, therefore besides describing general Egyptian society condition in the twentieth century, the writer will also describe how the Egyptian society treats women at that moment.
In the twentieth century the form of Egyptian society was a patriarchal society. Although the National Charter claimed the egalitarianism for both men and women, women are still put under men's domination. Therefore the women's demand of equal position occurred.
2.3.2 Egyptian Laws
Religion plays a major role in Egypt. Lane states that religion is the most important branch of education and the main foundation of Egyptians' manners and customs (64). The centrality of religion in Egypt has a long story. By the end of the second Islamic caliph, Umar ibn Abd al-Khattab, the expanding empire of Islam had succeeded in incorporating the Egyptian provinces of the Byzantine Empire. From the time of the pharaoh, religion had played a central role in the life of the people live in the Nile valley (Vatikiotis 429).
Rulers of Muslim communities were taught to not only use men's power to rule the country but also intellect and faith (Vatikiotis 429).
The Islam influence in Egypt has risen sharply. Tamir moustafa states that in the year of 1971 President Anwar Sadat issued a new constitution which declared Islam as the religion of Egypt and the Shari'a or the Islamic law as the main source of Egyptian law. His declaration was further strengthened by the making of article 2 which amended on 22 May 1980 which said that the principles of the Islamic jurisprudence are the main source of legislation. Then, the amendment was interpreted that all laws in Egypt must be based on the Islamic law or Shari'a (13). Therefore, the Shari'a becomes the law in Egypt.
2.3.3Egyptian Social Strata
The social strata can be seen from the personal things a person has. Kraus et.al state that there are three things which indicate the social strata which a person belongs to. They are individual’s financial resources, access to educational opportunities, and participation in social institutions (992). However, human belongs to particular social strata since he was born. Joseph Schumpeter proposes in his book: Imperialism & Social Classes that the individual does not belong to a given class by his own choice, by his actions, or by his qualities. It stems from his membership in a given clan or lineage (113).
Each stratum is different. Kraus et.al states that social class can influence the social outcomes of each class. The outcomes are the accessibility to power and position, their daily life manner, and the opportunities they have (992). Therefore, the manners and customs of the Egyptian people of each stratum are also presented. By knowing the manners and customs of each strata, we can find the different manners of each stratum and how society treatment through each strata. These parts are important in this study. Since society can trigger someone to do something, Firdaus' struggle of living and the society treatments through the social strata which she belongs must be one of her reasons of searching of the freedom that she might not accept before.
2.3.3.1 Egyptian Higher and Middle Classes
The higher and middle classes in Egypt are those who come from a wealthy and well educated family. The man of the higher classes in Egypt is commonly honored with the appellation of the sheikh, prefixed to his name. The word sheikh literally refers to an elder or an aged person but it is often used as a synonym of mister. However, it is more particularly applied to a learned man or a reputed saint (Lane 135).
still have obligations to their husband. If they want to eat, they must wait until their husbands finish their eating. They also order to serve his husband; such as fill and light his pipe, make coffee and prepare his food (Lane 136).
The wealthy Egyptian enjoys luxurious things. Men of high classes can enjoy expensive things such as coffee and pipe. Women of high classes generally use perfumes and cosmetics. Many of them also have a habit of chewing frankincense to fragrant their breath The pipe, cup of coffee, cosmetics and perfumes are considered as luxury things which can only be afforded by the high classes (Lane 137).
Husband and wife of the high class rarely spend time together. The master of the family rarely eat together with his family unless on some occasions (Lane 145). They also prefer to have separate bed and sleep alone (Lane 157).
2.3.3.2 Egyptian Lower Classes
Lower social class is associated with low income and assumed as the subordinate rank (Kraus et.al 992). The lower classes in Egypt consist of Fellaheen or agriculturists. Most of them live in great towns, few in the smaller towns, and some on the villages. Commonly, they work as tradesmen, artificers, servants, or labors. Their earnings are very small and insufficient to supply them and their families with the cheapest necessaries of life (Lane 199).
The women of the lower classes have many responsibilities on their life. Some of them work harder than the men. Once they are married, instead of working, they still have to take care of their family.
allowed to eat with her husband. When she goes out with him, she generally walks behind him. If there is something for them to carry, usually the wife will carry it unless it is a light thing such as a pipe or a stick. Some poor women in the town keep shop, sells bread or vegetables which give them some money as much as (or even more) than their husbands can give to the support their families (Lane 199).
2.3.3.3 Egyptian Children
The Egyptian children of different classes are treated and raised differently by their family. According to Lane, in Egypt a stranger can even notice the social strata from their appearance. The children of upper and middle classes in Egypt usually dress similarly to the way of their parents dress whereas the children of low appearance are more neglected. Generally, they are quite naked (until they reach the age of six or seven years old), dirty, and barefoot. The little ladies of the wealthy wear white face veils as their mothers while the little girls of poor have only a piece of ragged stuff which is not large enough to cover both their head and body (52).
Concerning treatment of children, mothers of the wealthy usually give a big attention to their children while mothers of the poor only give a little attention to their children, beyond supplying the absolute wants of nature (Lane 54). The lack attention of mothers of the poor even caused the big number of dead children in Egypt. Nawal El-Saadawi in her book The Naked Face of Woman states that the number of dead children in the village in Arab is very high because of the low economic condition and also its culture (266).
children about a few principles of religion (Lane 60). Some parents of upper and middle classes usually employ sheikh to teach their boys or sheikhah (learned woman) to teach their daughters and female slaves to pray, recite few chapters of the Koran, and sometimes read and write (Lane 62-63). Although the daughters of high and middle classes are sometimes deserve to get a proper education as the same as their brothers, the daughters of lower class are very seldom taught to read, write or pray (Lane 63).
2.3.4 Egyptian Women in the Twentieth Century
In this part, the Egyptian women in the twentieth century are reviewed because the setting of time of the novel is in the 1976th. The women’s position in Egypt at that time will be revealed because the novel mentions about the inequality between men and women in Egypt. This part is important in this study. In analyzing Firdaus' motivation on searching for her freedom, we have to analyze the women's position in a society first since society has an important role to influence someone to do something.
2.3.4.1 Women's Position in Egyptian Society
in a certain society is still considered as lower than men's (Montagu 270).
Egypt is one society with a powerful patriarchy system. Patriarchal society means that the father line is followed. Patriarchy places men over women. In a patriarchal system, men are allowed to power while women have to be dependent to men's power (Pendergast and McGregor 3). Thus, men will dominate all aspects of the society. Humm describes that patriarchal system is a system with male authority strongly dominates its social, political, and economic institution (408). However, dowry is the symbol of a patriarchy system. According to Henrietta, the dowry system only happens in a patriarchal society. The dowry is the indication of a woman's right to inherit a share of the patrimonial property (68).
In a patriarchal society, women are placed in a second position while men are the first in a society. Therefore, men will have more power rather than women. Theoretically, women and men are equal before the law. Yet, in Egypt as a patriarchal society many of those rights are not guaranteed. Brian Katulis in Women's Rights in Focus: Egypt states that most of Egyptians interviewed said that
men and women have equal rights. Yet, the general agreement that men and women should have equal rights does not translate into an attitude that they have the same roles and responsibilities in life. Both men and women see women as having the primary responsibility for taking care of the home and raising children, while men serve as the primary breadwinners (8).
women roles covers many aspects. They are in the aspect of family, education, media, work, politic, law and health (Guenena and Wassef 31).
2.3.4.1.1 Egyptian Women and Family
Family is a place in which women are put under men. Patriarchy society means the society which is ruled by the male. Hence in a patriarchal society a father is the most important figure who takes control of everything in a family. Father always dominates the family (Kelly 59). Women's role in a family is to serve her husband well including by doing the domestic work. According to Haj-Yahia, the house keeping is the most important job to do for most wives in a patriarchal society (4). In Egyptian society, there are four things which symbolize the father's superiority in the family. They are polygamy, divorce, bayt al-ta'ah (house of obedience), and the minimum marriage age (Guenena and Wassef 20).
Many wealthy Muslims in Egypt marry more than one wife. As in the Koranic passage which mentions that men are allowed to marry four wives but they have to be fair to each wife they have (An-Nisa 4: 3).
The law of allowing polygamy for Egyptian male was made in 1927. The legal and Islam allowance for Egyptian men to practice polygamy is in contradictory to the Egyptian National Charter which was made in 1962. The National Charter claims that family as the smallest part of a society is the most important part of a society. People are raised and learned through their family. Due to the importance of a family, therefore the government should protect the unity of family. As the practices of polygamy often destruct the unity of a family, hence the right of polygamy for Egyptian men should be abolished (Guenena and Wassef 21).
claims that women are allowed to divorce their husband if he is unable to support the wife or if he suffers from a harmful illness. Though women have a right to divorce their husband, the differentiation of the process of the divorcing among men and women exists. Guenena and Wassef state that while men are allowed to divorce his wife without any witness or proof, women must have at least two witnesses and be able to prove the reason of their divorce (102). Azizah Y. Al-Hibri in her book Introductions to Muslim Women's Rights declares that for being a witness for a woman to divorce her husband is something which is very shameful to do for most Egyptian. Therefore, not every woman can successfully negotiate in the process of her divorce (70).
Bayt al-ta'ah (house of obedience) is not derived from or related to the
Qur'an or Sunna, yet it is a law. In Egypt, it is a man's right to demand the obedience of his wife. The origin of bayt al-ta'ah is the belief that a wife must stay at home and obey her husband as the exchange for the husband's financial support. Whatever a husband says is a command for a wife. If a wife refuses to obey a command of her husband, the husband may take her to the court. If the case is proved, the wife will get a certificate declaring that she is a nashizeh or rebelling against her husband. By becoming a nashizeh, a woman is not only divorced by her husband but also can not marry another man as long as her husband is still alive (Guenena and Wassef 103).
age had set. Guenena and Wassef mention that in the 1920's the government set a minimum marriage age which are sixteen years old for girls and eighteen years old for boys (23). Meanwhile, many Egyptian parents ask their daughters to marry on early age. Marriage at a young age may bring a bad impact on the girls especially when they give birth on their early ages. It may be very harmful for their reproduction system and cause death to them as well (23).
2.3.4.1.2 Egyptian Women and Education
Egyptian law has allowed both men and women to get a free education. During the 1950's, large numbers of women were allowed to get university degrees. The large number of women graduated from university at that time was appropriate to the commitment of the post-1952 revolutionary government, which was education for the general population. Despite the official commitment to the education for general population, the differentiation between the educational status of men and women still occurs. The rising conservatism in Egypt today is at play in changing the nature of the commitment to girls’ education. Education is purposed to enhance women's roles as wives and mothers, as reflected in the official school curriculum. The chance of women to enter the university is also lesser than men. (Guenena and Wassef 33). This condition is in agreement with Pendergast and McGregor statement that in a patriarchal society, men's domination exists in the political, economic, or educational system (3).
2.3.4.1.3 Egyptian Women and the Work Place
Egyptian Constitution of 1971 gives all citizens equal chance to work regardless on their gender. The protection upon women worker was also provided. Law 137 of 1981 allows women to work at night as long as the protection provided is enough for them (Guenena and Wassef 35). Despite the freedom to work and the protection upon them, the different treatments between men and women in working still occur. Women’s participation on working is limited by women's responsibility of domestic tasks. The lacking of women’s education also limits their participation in working. As the result of their lack education, most of these jobs give them low wages. Women's wages in Egypt are lower than men even though they work on the same job (Guenena and Wassef 36).
2.3.4.1.4 Egyptian Women and Politics
Another issue of the gender discrimination in Egypt is the chance of women to participate in politics. Egyptian society assumes that men have better leadership than women. Women are created to bow under men’s power and authorization, and follow men’s leadership. The family opposition also discourages women to enter the political arena. Most Egyptian families will not allow their daughter to enter political arena. Politics are viewed as a dirty, rough, and unsafe competition for women. Men as the stronger species than women are more appropriate to compete on the political arena (Guenena and Wassef 36-37).
2.3.4.1.5 Egyptian Women and Law
against women. Thus, Sharifa Zuhur states that in talking about the inequality of women in law, most feminist and women movement in Egypt are more concern of demanding the equality of women in the criminal law (11).
Egypt is an Islamic country which uses Shari'a as the base of its law. In the year of 1971 President Anwar Sadat issued a new constitution which declares Islam as the religion of Egypt and Shari'a as the Egyptian law (Tamir Moustafa 13). The source of Shari'a is the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet. The Koran states that male and female believers are each other's walis (Al-Ar'af 30: 21). The word walis refers the protectors or guardians. It means that these two genders should protect or guard each other. Thus, violence against women will break harmony between two genders which is written on the Koranic passage. In addition, the violence upon women shows discrimination against women, and proves that men own and control women (Sharifa Zuhur 42).
There are many examples of violence against women. The first example is the sexual violence including rape and sexual abuse. According to Shari'a, sex is only allowed under a legal marriage. If a person is having sex before a legal marriage, he or she will be considered as doing zina. Under Shari'a, zina is strictly prohibited. The crime of zina is one of the seven serious crimes in Shari'a.
Shari'a becomes the punishment of raping according to the Egyptian law. Yet, to be
proven that a woman is raped by a man, there must be at least four witnesses to prove his criminality. Unfortunately, in most cases a rapist will claim that the woman had engaged in the sexual activity, and says that the woman also wants it. The woman will not be considered as the victim of the rape. Moreover, she will be assumed as doing zina and even be punished (Sharifa Zuhur 35).
Sexual abuse is also one examples of sexual crime which some women often experience. According to the Egyptian law Article 306 of the Egyptian Penal Code if a man is proven doing a sexual abuse (both verbal and physical) to a woman, the person will be imprisoned for one month (Shefira Zuhur 42).
The second example of violence against women is the domestic violence. Article 241 of the Egyptian Penal Code declares that a person who does a domestic violence will be imprisoned for two years or pay a fine of 20 to 300 Egyptian pounds. However, most husbands who do the domestic violence will be only asked to pay the fine while for wives they will be imprisoned (Sharifa Zuhur 63). The difference in punishment reflects women as less important than men. For worse, the domestic violence upon women is considered as a common thing for most of Egyptian. The 1995 Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey found that majority of women, especially for those who live in rural areas, believed that beating a wife deserved to be forgiven.
2.3.4.1.6 Egyptian Women and Health
Egyptian women also find inequality in the health status. Egyptian families, and especially in rural areas, give more attention and health care to their sons than to their daughters. This is caused by the belief of the birth of a boy will give them a greater happiness and pride than the birth of a girl. This belief follows through their life (Guenena and Wassef 38).
Egyptian women are subjected to female circumcision, often called female genital mutilation (FGM). According to UNICEF, it is estimated that more than 130 million women and girls in some Islamic countries such as Egypt have been subjected to FGM. UNICEF defines FGM as removing or injuring the female genital organs of girls between 4 and 14 years old. There are many reasons for doing FGM. UNICEF states that the most significant reason is the belief that a girl who has not experienced FGM will not be considered suitable for marriage. There are many health consequences from FGM. They are the failure to heal, severe bleeding, inflammatory diseases and urinary infections. It can also cause HIV infection. Also, the pain of FGM may cause shock and trauma through them. Although it is very dangerous for their daughter, Egyptian parents still believe it as a good tradition with many benefits for them. Therefore, they forced their daughter to do it.
2.4 Theoretical Framework
Theory of critical approach is employed to determine the most appropriate approach in analysing and interpreting the novel. To answer the third problem, also, two theories are used, namely theory of motivation and theory of freedom. Theory of motivation discusses the types of needs and the hierarchy of needs. Theory of freedom discusses about the definition of freedom, types of freedom and the limitation of human freedom. Related to the theory of freedom, the theory of motivation reveals the factors and the reasons of why someone needs to get their freedom.
32
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three parts. They are subject of the study, approach of the study and method of the study. The first is the subject of the study which deals with Saadawi’s novel Woman at Point Zero and also the focus of the study. The second is approach of the study that explains the critical approach in analyzing this novel. They are the sociocultural-historical and the psychological approaches. The last is method of the study as the procedure to analyze the study.
3.1 Object of the Study
This study is to analyze a novel entitled Woman at Point Zero. This novel was written by Nawal El-Saadawi. Nawal El-Saadawi is one of the most popular and controversial writers in Egypt. Nawal El-Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero was originally written in Arabic 1979. It was translated into English by Sherif Hetata. The novel was published nine times. Totally, this novel consists of 103 pages. This novel has brought about a hard criticism about women's inequality in Egypt. In conducting the study, I used the tenth impression which was published in 1999 by Zed Books Ltd.
Woman at Point Zero is a novel about the life of Firdaus, a prostitute who is
3.2 Approach of the Study
According to Rohrberger and Woods, Jr, there are five kinds of approaches. They are the formalist approach, the biographical approach, the sociocultural-historical approach, the mythopoeic approach, and the psychological approach (6-15). In this study, the writer uses the sociocultural-historical and the psychological approaches. The sociocultural-historical approach is needed to analyze the background reasons related to her society why Firdaus wants to get her freedom. How the women's freedom is being searched at that time is a part of sociocultural-historical element which can be explained deeply through this approach. The psychological approach can help the researcher in analyzing human motivation, personality and also behavior patterns that are related to a psychological field. In this study, Firdaus’s motivation in seeking freedom affects her psychological states. By using this psychological approach, this study brings me to see a deeper understanding of Firdaus’s motivation in seeking freedom. However, human motivation is a part of human psychology which can explain more about motivation behavior. Therefore, the psychological approach is relevant to apply to answer the problems formulated in this study which is related to a psychological field.
3.3 Method of the Study
35
CHAPTER 4
ANALYSIS
This part consists of the analysis of the story. It is aimed to answer the questions that are stated in the problem formulation. The analysis of the story is divided into three parts. The first part is the analysis of the society condition in Egypt as reflected in the novel Woman at Point Zero. The second part of this chapter presents the analysis of society treatment toward women in Egypt at that time. Then, the third part of this chapter analyzes how Firdaus gets her freedom. Going further, the analysis of Firdaus' searching for freedom will be followed by the analysis of the causes behind Firdaus' motivation of searching for freedom.
4.1 The Condition of Egyptian Society as Portrayed in the Novel
The novel Woman at Point Zero gives the description of Firdaus' society in the twentieth century. Through the novel, we will have a brief view on the society condition in Egypt in the twentieth century.
The core of the study is about women. Therefore, this part will mainly discuss about the twentieth century Egyptian society's point of view toward women.
4.1.1 Patriarchal Society
parent will get dowry from their son in law when their daughter is proposed. The dowry system is only found in the patriarchal society. Dowry is the indication of a woman’s right to inherit a share of the patrimonial property (Henrietta 68). In the novel, the dowry system is stated. Firdaus says that her father is only a poor farmer. Since he is poor, he is uneducated. He can neither read nor write. He only knows very few things in life including how to exchange his virgin daughter for a dowry when there is still time (El-Saadawi 12). The text mentions that Firdaus' father knows how to change his daughter for a dowry. Therefore, it is apparent that the society which mentioned in the novel is a patriarchal society. However, according to Pendergast and McGregor in a patriarchal society men are allowed to power while women have to be dependent on men's power (3). Therefore, in a patriarchal society man has more chance to power rather than woman. Men's position in the society is higher than women. The power of men upon women is found in the novel.
I read about a ruler whose female servants and concubines were as numerous as his army, and about another whose only interests in life were wine, women, and whipping his slaves. A third cared little about for women, but enjoyed wars, killing, and torturing men. Another of these rulers loved food, money and hoarding riches without end. Still another was possessed with such an admiration for himself and his greatness that for him no one else in the land existed. There was also a ruler so obsessed with plots and conspiracies that he spent all of his time distorting the facts of history and trying to fool his people (El-Saadawi 26-27).
It is stated that all rulers are men. As rulers, men are powerful, strong, and great. Thus, men are able to power and control everything in the society. Women's position is weak. The participation of a woman is not more than a female servant or concubine even a slave for a man.
being socialized and educated since their early age (Haj-Yahia 3). Thus, the superiority of men upon women’s position in Egypt happens ever since they are born. Most Egyptians think that the birth of a son will bring more happiness and pride rather than the birth of a daughter. The belief of the less importance of women causes the negative sense toward women, that is women are less important and priceless. Therefore, being a women is not a great thing and somehow shameful.
When one of his female children dead, my father would eat his supper, my mother would wash his legs, and then he would go to sleep, just as he did every night. When the child was died was a boy, he would beat my mother, then have a supper, and lie down to sleep (El-Saadawi 18).
It proves the Egyptians consider girls as unimportant and less valuable in a family. For them, it is better to have sons rather than daughters. When one of Firdaus' sisters dies, her father is not angry and feels nothing wrong about it. On the other side, if one of Firdaus' brothers dies, he will get angry and beat his wife. In Egypt, the death of a son means losing something worthy in life while the death of a daughter means nothing.
4.1.2 Egyptian Social Strata
be concluded that there are three classes in Egypt. They are upper, middle, and lower class. According to Lane, the higher and middle classes in Egypt are those who come from wealthy and well educated families (193). The passage describes that the middle class in Egypt has more access to educational opportunities. Hence, they are well educated. The passage mentions that the high classes in Egypt are those who are able to enjoy the luxurious and expensive things such as make-up and expensive shoes. According to Lane, only the wealthy Egyptians can enjoy luxurious things (137). Hence, the upper classes of Egyptian are those who are wealthy.
Lane also mentions that the lower classes in Egypt consist of Fellaheen or agriculturists (199). In the novel, Firdaus father is only a poor farmer, who cannot neither read nor write (El-Saadawi 12). Since Firdaus' father is a poor farmer, he is a member of the lower order because he is poor and uneducated.
However, the social class in which a person may belong to is given by his family line. Joseph Schumpeter states that a class of a person is given stemmed from his clan or lineage (113). Since Firdaus' father is the member of a lower class, Firdaus is born with her status as a lower class.
As social class is important in a society, it will determine the person's accessibility to power and position, their daily life manner, and the opportunities they have (Kraus et.al 992). If a person is included in a high order of social class, he or she will have more power and greater position in the society. The greater position in a society, the more respect he or she will has. In the novel, Firdaus sees how her uncle treats her aunt.
a loud voice. He was extremely polite, but treated her with the peculiar kind of courtesy devoid of true respect, which men preserve for women. I sensed that his feeling was more one of fear than of love, and that she came from a higher social class than his (El-Saadawi 23).
This proves that the more respect an Egyptian may have depends on the social class a person is. Firdaus' uncle respects his wife so much since she comes from a higher social class rather than him. Because Firdaus belongs to the lower class, she fails to be respected by others.
Firdaus' family is one example of many families in Egypt which belongs to the lower class. Lower social class is associated with low income and assumed as the subordinate rank (Kraus et.al 992). Because of their low economic condition, health care is something which is not necessary for them. This condition then causes the high number of Egyptian children who suffer from serious diseases and these which lead them to their death at the end. Nawal El-Saadawi in her book The Naked Face of Woman states that the number of dead children in the village in Arab
is very high because of the low economic condition and also its culture (266). This condition is also portrayed in the novel.
For, like most people, I had many brothers and sisters. They were like chicks that multiply in spring, shiver in winter and lose their feathers, and then in summer are stricken with diarrhoea, waste away quickly and one by one creep into a corner and die (El-Saadawi 18).
Not only the lack of health care, the lower classes of Egypt even cannot provide enough food for their family. Since they are very poor, food becomes something which is rare to find. Yet, food is the basic need that every human need to live. Maslow states that physiological needs such as food are the basic need which is required for human survival (qtd in Petri 302).
Since Firdaus' family is poor, they sometimes have not enough food for each member of the family. Thus, they will sleep with empty stomach (El-Saadawi 18). It describes the life of lower classes in Egypt which is very lacking. They sometimes have no food to enjoy by all of family members as what Firdaus experiences.
Due to the poorness of the family, the lower of Egyptian never enjoy luxurious and glamorous things. Lane says that the earnings of the lower classes are very small and insufficient even to buy the cheapest necessaries (199). Since they are very poor, for them clothes is something luxurious which is unaffordable. That is why Lane states that people can define the social class of Egypt from the way they dress (52). In the novel it is described:
I was frightened when I found myself looking at a little girl wearing a dress that reached down no further than her knees, and a pair of shoes that hid her feet. I looked round the room. There was no one else in it apart from me. I could not understand where this girl had sprung from, nor realize that she could only be me. For I was always dressed in a long gallabeya which trailed along the ground, and no matter where I went it was always barefoot (El-Saadawi 20).
shoes. Thus, it can be imagined how the lower classes of Egypt life. From the discussion above it then can be assumed that the Egyptian lower classes cannot afford for having an education, taking care of their health, having enough food, and even wearing a proper dress. Those are the description of Egyptian society in the twentieth century as reflected in the novel Woman at Point Zero. It is clearly described how the society condition at that time which is reflected in the novel.
4.2 Society's Treatments toward Women as Portrayed by the Character of
Firdaus in the Novel
The novel Woman at Point Zero gives the description of society treatments toward women in Egypt in the twentieth century. Through the novel, we will have a brief view on the society treatments toward women in Egypt in the twentieth century.
Firdaus, as an Egyptian woman, experiences such treatments. Her experiences are analyzed as the following:
4.2.1 As a Daughter
children. She often sacrifices her children to fulfill her husband's needs.
My father never went to bed without supper, no matter what happened. Sometimes when there was no food at home we would all go to bed with empty stomachs. But he would never fail to have a meal. My mother would hide his food from us at the bottom of one of the holes in the oven (El-Saadawi 18).
This text tells the superiority of a father in Firdaus' family. Although there is no food at home, Firdaus' mother only serves the food for her father. She does not care whether her children are hungry or not. She even hides the food at the bottom of one of the holes in the oven so that her children will not find it. While her father is eating, Firdaus can only watch him. She does not dare to ask his father to give the food to her. Once she tries to do it, her father becomes very angry and strikes her a sharp blow over the back of her finger (El-Saadawi 19).
In a patriarchal society, men are superior while women are inferior. The superiority of men results the different treatment between them. In Firdaus' family, a son is more valuable rather than a daughter. This is shown from Firdaus' statement:
When one of his female children dead, my father would eat his supper, my mother would wash his legs, and then he would go to sleep, just as he did every night. When the child was died was a boy, he would beat my mother, then have a supper, and lie down to sleep (El-Saadawi 18).
This shows the different treatment toward son and daughter. For Firdaus' father, son is more valuable rather than a daughter. Losing a son means losing something worthy while losing a daughter means nothing for him.
need of love and attention from her. Firdaus is used to be abandoned by her mother. On a cold night in a winter, Firdaus father is used to sleep comfortably in the warmest spot in his house while Firdaus is asked to sleep in the coldest place only with a straw mat. Although she knows that Firdaus is freezing, Firdaus' mother will sleep with her husband to keep him warm instead of sleeping beside Firdaus (El-Saadawi 17). This proves her mother' abandoning of Firdaus.
Egyptian girls are also subjected to female circumcision which is often called as a female genital mutilation. According to UNICEF, the female genital mutilation is the tradition of removing of the female genital organs of girls between 4 and 14 years old. Firdaus, also experiences a female genital mutilation. One day, her mother brings a woman who cuts off a piece of flesh between Firdaus' thighs with a small knife (El-Saadawi 13). The girls cannot refuse to be circumcised. All they can do is only crying because of the pain, as what Firdaus experiences in the novel. Firdaus can only cry all night after she experiences a female genital mutilation (El-Saadawi 13).
In her childhood, Firdaus also experiences sexual abuse without realizing it. The first is done by her friend namely Mohammadain. Firdaus thinks that what Mohammadain does is a part of bride and bridegroom game whereas it is a sexual abuse (El-Saadawi 4). The second is done by her uncle.
My galabeya often slipped up my thighs, but I paid no attention until the moment when I would glimpse my uncle's hand moving slowly from behind the book he was reading to touch my leg. The next moment I could feel it travelling up my thigh with cautions, stealthy, trembling movement..., his hand would continue to press against my thigh with grasping almost brutal insistence (El-Saadawi 15).
