The Appropriation of Tradition in Selected Works of Contemporary Arab Women Writers

Abstract

AbstractThis study aims at discussing the appropriation of traditional material in selected works of contemporary Arab women writers. While such appropriation is conceived as a subversive strategy of self-empowerment, it also offers a venue of cultural self-critique and re-evaluation of the self. Reclaiming the lost tradition of telling stories, these writers assume the role of Shahrazād to contest male dominance. Whether they simply adopt this role, reinterpret, or undermine it, these writers have got much to say about reacting to tradition in general and to androcentric hegemony in particular.