Women at Point Zero
How are women presented in the novel and what effect did this have on your understanding of the text?
In Nawal El Saadawi’s novel, “Women at Point Zero” women are portrayed as living in a struggling society where they are not aloud to raise their voice or fight for their rights. The only place women are meant to be is in the kitchen fulfilling their husband’s every command. This novel shows that Egyptian women are being put down by men in their everyday lives and Firdaus is trying to change that. She wants women to feel real freedom and have the right to live their own lives, instead of being controlled and manipulated. Living her life without a father in a completely male-dominating society has caused Firdaus to grown into a strong independent woman who stand up for what she believes in. Unlike most women she doesn’t fear the consequences of her speaking the truth because she is no longer scared of death. She feels as though she has fallen far enough that no one could possibly harm her anymore.
This text showed that at the end no matter how hard Firdaus tried to change the gender inequality she wasn’t able to. The novel shows the reality of Egypt, it shows how women are treated not as equals but as if they were from a lower statue. This novel symbolically fights for the freedom of the women not only in Egypt but in other places in the world where women are treated as if they are there only for the sole pleasure of men. I personally had not known that Egyptian women had to face so much torture and pain in their everyday life. This novel showed me that in some places around the world there is still a lot of inequality and suffering that most people are unaware of. Firdaus like many women living in Egypt is forced to endure the pain that other men have thrown upon her. Firdaus never surrendered or gave up, instead she died believing in what she did till the very
In Nawal El Saadawi’s novel, “Women at Point Zero” women are portrayed as living in a struggling society where they are not aloud to raise their voice or fight for their rights. The only place women are meant to be is in the kitchen fulfilling their husband’s every command. This novel shows that Egyptian women are being put down by men in their everyday lives and Firdaus is trying to change that. She wants women to feel real freedom and have the right to live their own lives, instead of being controlled and manipulated. Living her life without a father in a completely male-dominating society has caused Firdaus to grown into a strong independent woman who stand up for what she believes in. Unlike most women she doesn’t fear the consequences of her speaking the truth because she is no longer scared of death. She feels as though she has fallen far enough that no one could possibly harm her anymore.
This text showed that at the end no matter how hard Firdaus tried to change the gender inequality she wasn’t able to. The novel shows the reality of Egypt, it shows how women are treated not as equals but as if they were from a lower statue. This novel symbolically fights for the freedom of the women not only in Egypt but in other places in the world where women are treated as if they are there only for the sole pleasure of men. I personally had not known that Egyptian women had to face so much torture and pain in their everyday life. This novel showed me that in some places around the world there is still a lot of inequality and suffering that most people are unaware of. Firdaus like many women living in Egypt is forced to endure the pain that other men have thrown upon her. Firdaus never surrendered or gave up, instead she died believing in what she did till the very