Edward Said and Assia Djebar: A Contrapuntal Reading

Abstract

In Orientalism, Edward Said defines the relationship between the Occident and the Orient as one of power and domination, positing Orientalism as an exclusively male phenomenon, and the Oriental woman a projection of European male fantasy. It is fitting, therefore, to examine Algerian women's writings as expressions of resistance to Empire. This article proposes to read Djebar and Said's personal trajectories contrapuntally and then apply his theoretical concepts, particularly the notion of contrapuntal reading, to the Algerian novelist's writings. I am responding to the concern that Said largely marginalized most women and noncanonical writers and their works by suggesting that Djebar, who shares Said's preoccupations with cultural imperialism, extends and develops his analyses of Orientalism and imperialism in her work.