The Arab Novel Beyond Borders: Gender Identity Construction and Diaspora in Najat El Hachmi’s The Last Patriarch

Abstract

Enough scholarly interest has been invested in studying diasporic literatures and discourses. However, given linguistic constraints, Moroccan diasporic texts have received little attention. Through the lens of gender theory, this paper attempts to offer some critical reflections on Najat El Hachmi’s The Last Patriarch. It specifically looks at the ways in which gender identities are constructed and transformed within a conservative patriarchal family residing in diaspora far-flung from the homeland. It also examines how binary static identities are reshuffled, making the protagonist engage in a quest for independence and self-assertion. The complexities of immigrant identities, incorporating binary elements such as languages (Amazigh and Catalan), modernity, and tradition, allowed the protagonist to go beyond shame, taboos, and stereotypes to deconstruct the patriarchal figure. As a migrant, El Hachmi’s protagonist presents a critical vision of both realities, thus taking her destiny into her “own” hands and toppling down ‘the last patriarch.’