Marriage, Madness and Murder

Marriage is one human relationship that is portrayed in many Arab women's fiction. It is usually employed as a means to question traditional female roles, re-define feminine selfhood, explore the conditions of female singleness in a patriarchal society, alert us to the emotional and psychological pressures exerted on women within these institutions, and confront us with dramatic examples of the ways in which marriage may legitimize the abuse of women. These ideas are clearly expressed in Alia Mamdouh's Mothballs (Eng. Edition 1996) and Salwa Bakr's The Golden Chariot (Eng. Edition. 1995). By focusing on traditional and non-traditional discourses of marriage, both Bakr and Mamdouh provide a very interesting and yet troubling perspective on the politics of marriage in the Arab world. They also show that for many women, the experience of marriage threatens a woman's identity, worth and existence. In many instances, it leaves nothing but the remnants of a self on the verge of madness.