Manifestations of Identity in the Emirati Feminist Novel: Reem Al-Kamali’s Rose’s Diary as a Case Study

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims at highlighting some features of the Emirati feminist novel through exploring the theme of identity in Reem Al-Kamali’s Rose’s Diary. It examines the representation of identity in terms of the Self-Other relationship as it is manifested in the aforementioned novel. Doing so, it underlines identity’s significance in explaining other subject matters that the novel tackles.

Methods: The study uses the analytical approach by engaging cultural and feminist approaches as two interrelated fields of study which are interested in dealing with cultural misconceptions. Hence, the study uses feminist literary theory due to its concern with the cultural construction of gender so as to highlight the fact that women’s identities are socially constructed rather than biologically determined. To achieve its purpose, the study highlights the representation of the Self and the Other in Rose’s Diary. It ultimately shows that analyzing the position of the female narrator within the network of connections she establishes with the Other leads to understanding several issues raised by the novel.

Results:.The study shows that identity, in its various manifestations and paradoxical nature in the writer’s consciousness, represents a central issue in the novel. Moreover, it reveals that despite the novel’s interest in the suffering of women in a male-dominated society, the heroine’s speech and actions characterize her as a product of her patriarchal culture, leading to her admission of her lover’s superiority over her.

Conclusions: The study reveals the novel’s obsession with preserving cultural identity but at the same time tracing features of change in the nation’s cultural values.