The Forbidden Woman

By Malika Mokeddem

Book Overview

The Forbidden Woman tells the story of Sultana, an Algerian woman doctor who, after years spent living in France, returns to her native village in order to attend the funeral of a former lover. The clash between her origins and the Westernized life she now leads is explored in telling detail against the backdrop of current events in Algeria. A work that combines insight into both political and personal matters, The Forbidden Woman develops a complex portrait of a country torn between progress and prejudice, secular life and Islamic fundamentalism. In this passionate book, Malika Mokeddem places special emphasis on the position of women in modern Algeria. The frequent indignities and injustices suffered by the narrator reflect the plight of women in a society marked by patriarchalism and religious fundamentalism. Yet the novel also suggests that, along with modernization, there are emerging demands for women's rights in Algeria-demands that might well signal a vastly different future for this tormented nation. Mokeddem was born into an illiterate nomad family in Kenadsa, Algeria. She had the opportunity, rare for a Moslem female, to attend the university in Oran. Later she completed her medical studies in Montpellier, France, where she currently practices medicine. The Forbidden Woman is her third novel. K. Melissa Marcus is an associate professor of French at Northern Arizona University. She is the author of The Representation of Mesmerism in Honor de Balzac's "La Com die Humaine" and the translator of Nina Bouraoui's Forbidden Vision.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803282400
• ISBN13: 9780803282407
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 156 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

I couldn't put it down - facinating

This book claims to take on, for the most part, the position of women in contemporary Algeria. But you can see many people's lives and how they're affected in this book. The narrative switches back and forth between Sultana, an Algerian woman doctor who lives in France, and a Frenchman in Algeria, Vincent. From the first few pages to the very end, it captivated me. It is hard to understand the FIS (Front Islamique du Salut, a radical Islamist Algerian political group) and their way of living. Sultana is an extremely dignified with much credibility and worthy of anyone's respect, yet she is called a [...] by her fellow Algerians when she walks on the street or goes to a bar or does anything really. The very end is the most surprising act of repression of all. But there are so many glimpses of hope in this book as well, the little girl character of Delilah, the nurse Khaled (even though he said some distasteful things to Sultana in the beginning, he emerged as a better character toward the end). It seems that Algeria is torn between the strong, fundamental Islam, and the changing world and people not wanting to be oppressed (who would?). Most of the Algerians I met were not very religious, but I was in the city of Alger and Bejaia. Maybe fundamentalism is always a negative thing when it comes to faith and sprituality. Nobody has the right to force their ideas on others, isn't that why we have rhetoric? (trying to be ironic). I'm sure this book was much better in its original French language text, although the translation is very good as well. Highly recommended. Algeria is facinating.

Excellent for the classroom.

One of the very best works of contemporary fiction set in the Maghrib. Raises the issues you would want for class discussion without the aggressive "eradicatory" anti-Islamism of most Algerian writers.