International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences

Vol-8, Issue-1; Jan-Feb, 2023

Journal Home Page Available: https://ijels.com/

Journal DOI: 10.22161/ijels

Strategies of Resistance to the Patriarchal Coercion in

Najat El Hachimi’s the Last Patriarch (2008)
Khadiri El Houssine

Assistant Professor of English Language, The Polydisciplinary Faculty of Errachidia, Moulay Ismail University, Morocco

Received: 13 Jan 2023; Received in revised form: 11 Feb 2023; Accepted: 20 Feb 2023; Available online: 27 Feb 2023
©2023 The Author(s). Published by Infogain Publication. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Abstract— The focus of this paper, which is in the mainstream of cross-cultural representation, is on the
resistance strategies used by Anglophone Arab women immigrant writers. Writings from the Arab diaspora
in particular lay the way for challenging the binary opposition between various cultures, genders, races,
nationalities, and so forth as well as the culture of exclusion and oppression. This paper argues that Arab
women Diaspora writing commit itself seriously to the marginal and the oppressed where authors express
their abilities to engage consciously in a political contest and willed protest against Orientalism and
Patriarchy. Through a textual analysis of Najat El Hachimi’s Novel entitled The Last Patriarch (2008), this
study attempts to trace the ways in which Arab female diasporic writers aim to go beyond the politics of
exclusion, surpasses gender and sexual stereotypes and resists patriarchal regime in its many multiple forms
and institutions. Therefore, Theories of feminism, postcolonialism and identity are used to analyze double
oppression and identity formation in a context of precariousness.
Keywords— Identity, Resistance, Representation, Diaspora, Hegemony and Patriarchy.

I. INTRODUCTION writers”1This new burgeoning literature stands as a mirror

Anglophone Arab literature in general and, Arab that reflects Arab immigrants’ anguish, anxiety and
women’s literature in particular, witnessed unprecedented unfulfillment as well as their quest for an identity which
change in content and quantity after the Twin Tower converges distinct cultures and languages. This literature
collapse. The September attacks brought about great presents a voice of truth which negotiates Orientalists and
political, social, cultural changes to the situation of Arabs in Patriarchal stereotypes and introduces Arabic culture to
the West and America in particular since it reshaped their Western readers.
identities, destabilized their sense of belonging and created During the last decades, Anglophone literature was
an agony and hostility against them. At the same time, it marked by a significant contribution of Arab women writers
shaped their literary developments. Lisa Majaj as cited by to carve out creative spaces fostering a better understanding
Jameel Alghaberi in his article on “Arab Anglophone of their experiences, lives and identities as immigrant Arab
Fiction: A New Voice in Post-9/11 America” affirms that, women from purely feminist and womanly perspectives.
Arab Anglophone fiction “reflects in part the shifting Diasporic Arab women writers committed themselves to
historical, social, and political contexts that have pushed reflect a genuine representation of women’s lives, identities
Anglophone Arab writers to the foreground, creating both and experiences beyond the androcentric patriarchal codes
new spaces for their voices and new urgencies of and colonial models which demean them as obedient,
expression, as well as the flourishing creativity of these submissive, ignorant and under the mercy of men. These

1Jameel Alghaberi, “Arab Anglophone Fiction: A New

Voice in Post-9/11 America,” Contemporary Literary Review
India, 5:3 (2018), p. 39.

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El Houssine Strategies of Resistance to the Patriarchal Coercion in Najat El Hachimi’s the Last Patriarch (2008)

writers transform their marginal position into a space of Through language, Najat El Hachimi endeavors to
resistance and strategically reflect their multiple articulate a fluid identity that refuses to dwell on margin.
consciousness of the social, economic, and political She expresses an outlook on women’s situation, status and
corrupted values and attempt to change them. The subordination in the Arab world as well as Western world.
increasing publications of Arab women diasporic writings Therefore, this writer articulates a feminist stance vis-à-vis
were simultaneously followed by increasing scholarly and women's gender identity, oppression and enslavement. Like
academic interests. The basic focus of Arab women the African feminist, El Hachimi believes that “Patriarchy
diaspora writings speaks within the thorny event of 11/9. is the single most life-threatening social disease assaulting
These texts were created from the viewpoint of the hybrid the male body and spirit in our nation. Yet most men do not
as well as from the effective experience of social use the word “patriarchy” in everyday life. Most men never
marginality. think about patriarchy.”3 This paper, thus, tend to explore in
Within the postcolonial and diaspora studies, Arab depth the resistance of patriarchal mentality and the forging
women’s diasporic literature ought to be read as a literature of a new path away from unjust power systems in the
of resistance, exile, home and identity making. Speaking of literary work of the Moroccan Spanish author, Najat El
the concept of ‘Resistance’ many critics within postcolonial Hachimi. The textual analysis and language investigation of
studies argue that it constitutes any opposition to, or The Last Patriarch will show how patriarchy and resistance
subversion of, dominant authorities. For instance, Raby are enacted, problematized and negotiated so as to articulate
Rebecca asserts in her article “What is Resistance?” that a female identity that contests essentialization,
limiting the scopes of resistance entails more than defining homogenization and champion openness and cultural
it. Resistance for her “is an integral part of power diversity.
relationships, of domination, subjugation and as such may
be viewed from different ideological viewpoints.”2 II. SUBVERSION OF GENDER ROLES AND
Resistance is a prevailing feature of most of the Arab female RESISTING THE PATRIARCHAL
diasporic literature which, recently, knew phenomenal MENTALITY
improvement and thematic changes that emanate from the
The last Patriarch (2008), published in 2008, is
author’s social, economic, political and psychological
the title of an interesting novel written by Najat El Hachimi;
status.
a Moroccan Spanish author, who was awarded the most
On the one hand, the selected writer I examine in prestigious Catalan literary prize, and the Ramon Llull prize
this study make use of her imaginings and creative Najat El Hachmi. The Last Patriarch is a narrative about
allegories to resistance and transform the mythical depiction modern immigration, from Morocco to Catalonia, and the
of the patriarchal discourse on Arab Muslim women. On the clashes of cultures, identity and feelings involved. The story
other hand, despite living in the diaspora, they spotlights on an immigrant Moroccan family that moves
imaginatively revisit their homeland and culture in an from a conservative traditional bound village in the north of
attempt to affirm their stance on the cultural stereotypes Morocco (Nadour) to live in a different modern northern
attached to Arab women in Arab culture as well as combat Spain. It is told from the perspective of the anonymous
the dominant patriarchal institutions. In this paper, daughter of the patriarch of the novel, Mimoun. This novel
resistance takes the form of consciousness raising and is divided into two parts; the first of which is centered on
inflaming the intellectual world on the necessity to reread recounting the story of Mimoun's childhood in a Moroccan
and revisit the typical definitions of otherness and Rif Village, where he fails the test to become another great
traditional structures of power relations pertaining to patriarch who would carry on what his ancestors began long
gender, sexual different religion and culture. It aims to ago. In the first part, El Hachimi presents the last Patriarch
examine the ways in which Arab women Diaspora writers, as a character that breaches all prospects of procrastination.
namely Najta El Hachimi, resist the pre-conceived El Hachimi documents Mimoun's upbringing among his
stereotypical Oriental discourse and, in this respect, three sisters and mother where he was allowed to do
language functions as a mode of transformation, subversion whatever he wants. While his mother and sisters lead an
and resistance. obedient life, he is free to become a tyrant driven by his
desires. Mimoun invents ridiculous stories to justify his

2 Rebecca Raby, “What is Resistance?” Journal of http://imaginenoborders.org/pdf/zines/UnderstandingPatriarchy.p

Youth Studies, 8:2, (2005), p. 155. df
3Bell Hooks. (2015), “Understanding Patriarchy”

retrieved on (April 16, 2017), from

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El Houssine Strategies of Resistance to the Patriarchal Coercion in Najat El Hachimi’s the Last Patriarch (2008)

behaviors and believes his fantasies. El Hachmi draws a subordination. These historical records are transmitted
conclusion that Mimoun is not typical of Moroccan man. through generation and, in Sadiqi’s words, “deepened the
The second part of the novel revolves around the gap between the two sexes.”5 Besides, as Sadiqi manifests,
experience of immigration, alienation, deterritorialization Moroccan culture is overwhelmed with gender stereotypes
and cultural encounter. Narrated from the perspective of that constitute permanent male-based group mindset. “Most
Mimoun’s daughter, the story recounts the way Mimoun’s of the stereotypes about women in Moroccan culture are
daughter is moved by the culture, life style and language of negative. In general, female talk, attributes, actions, and
her adopted land. She finds refuge in its literature and is habits are more negatively depicted in Moroccan languages
obsessed with acquiring Catalan language. In the diaspora, than male talk, attributes, actions, and habits.” 6She adds
the narrator (Mimoun’s daughter) comes into conflict and that the female sex is socialization within the rigid system
fluctuation between two cultures and realizes how difficult of kinship relations to believe that they are weak, emotional,
it can be to seek liberation against a tyrannical father. patient and obedient. These stereotypes and cultural beliefs
Mimoun, as Najat El Hachimi intended to shows stands to are commonly respected by all members of society and any
be the last patriarch. approval or violation is followed by sanction. These
penalties and rewards for conduct concerning social norms
Before delving in the analysis of the way El
are constructed by the traditional authority to discipline the
Hachimi depicts the patriarchal social and cultural
members of a given society. They also help in insuring
boundaries that bound Moroccan women’s live and relegate
diffusion of culture and thus secure the authority of the
them to the status of inferiority, it of much importance to
dominant groups. Furthermore, Moha Ennaji advocates the
provide an overview on the Moroccan masculinist
same stance arguing that cultural hurdles and patriarchal
perception of women’s identities, gender roles and
traditions contribute extensively to women’s invisibility in
attributes. In this regard, perhaps Fatima Sadiqi’s
most of the productive and influential positions because of
contributions to this field is very relevant. In her article
the increasing rate of illiteracy among women (illiteracy is
Sadiqi affirms that, “Moroccan culture is of a type that
more widespread among women (60%) than among men
strongly constrains the behavior of men and women through
40%). Ennaji maintains that, “Illiteracy and lack of
a space-based patriarchy. The strength of this control comes
information prevent women from invoking their rights or
from the fact that it is channeled through powerful social
reporting crimes against them, such as rape, child abuse,
institutions”.4Culture and Moroccan culture in particular is
sexual exploitation and domestic violence”7
a learned behaviour and a social heritage that is transmitted
to each generation where the newly born is taught to adhere That is, within the Moroccan cultural system,
to certain cultural norms and fit in different aspects of the women’s freedom, and equality according to many men
dominant culture that expects from them to fulfil its present a real threat to the patriarchal social fabric and
standards as gendered being. The Moroccan social men’s status quo. This fact conceals the heterogeneity,
organisation is headed by the father and the male lineage productivity of Moroccan women, at the same time, lead to
which makes of it a typical patriarchal where women roles different forms of cultural, institutional, physical and verbal
are related to their reproductive function. violence against women. However, in the recent decades,
things have begun to change in Morocco as women’s issues
Sadiqi identifies the eight basic paradigms that
have recently become more public and political. Women’s
make of the Moroccan culture a strong disciplining system
case is no longer private and perhaps Ennaji seems to be
and a primary factor of women’s subjugation. Among the
optimistic since Moroccan women’s emancipation becomes
patriarchal paradigms identified by Sadiqi there are (i)
the subject matter of decision-makers, social organizations
historical heritage and tradition, (ii) orality, Islam (iv), (v)
and NGOs that attempt to change the status quo and
multilingualism, (vi) social organization, (vii) economic
guarantee equal right for women. Moha Ennaji sums up that
status, and (viii) political system. All these channels
“As a consequence of the advocacy of women’s groups, the
perpetuate the same stereotypical agenda and consequently
Moroccan government has recently launched a campaign to
make women’s contributions to development, roles and
fight against poverty and illiteracy among rural women,
status secondary when compared to their male counter-part.
which had a great impact on poor women’s welfare and
For instance, according to Saqidi the historical memoirs and
people’s attitudes toward women in general and toward
records document and immortalize Moroccan women’s

4Fatima,Sadiqi (2011), “Women, and the Violence of Stereotypes 6Ibid.,

p.15.
in Morocco,” retrieved on (Feb, 15, 2019), 7Moha Ennaji, “Women, Gender, and Politics in
fromhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/308674628p.3. Morocco,” Social Science, 5:75 (2016), p.4.
5Ibid., p. 4.

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their political participation.”8 Women’s rights and equality versions of patriarchy; one that is dominant and
in Morocco issues that impose themselves not only in the authoritative in his relations to his family and the second is
political scene but rather most of Moroccan feminist writers the one El Hachimi constructs as the last patriarch who fails
take it as a holly responsibility. In the case of the Moroccan and declines all the archetypes and paradigms of
Spanish writer (Najat El Hachimi) she is aware of the fact masculinity. El Hachimi uses an ironic language and goes
that Moroccan women are still in need to be more integrated beyond taboos while drawing an image of the character of
socially, politically, and economically in order to strengthen Mimoun (the last patriarch). El Hachimi wants her story to
the democratization path of the country. That is, in her novel be rooted in real social, daily and simple happenings which
she exhibits her stance on patriarchy as the most dominant concerns the majority of Moroccan youth who were brought
and oppressive social network in Morocco and how this up to be patriarchs.
social structure has a far-reaching drawback on the lives to In this specific case, El Hachimi recreates the
its inhabitants. history of the last patriarch of a Moroccan Berber-family,
The relevance of Najat El Hachimi’s The Last the subsequent immigration to Catalonia in search of
Patriarch emanates from her pursuits to follow the promotion and social progress and the process of integration
trajectories of postcolonial feminists ‘critique and their in the context of Spanish state all from a gender perspective.
endeavor to interpret and analyze the status quo under which The story all the time alludes to Mimoun with great ironic
Arab women are left subordinated and marginalization. charges as the ‘the great patriarch’ with a clear intention to
Najat El Hachimi strives to posit her own position of the a creation and a destruction of the prototypical character of
institution of patriarchy, and the patriarchal legacy fiction. In her attempt to describe Moroccan patriarchal
performed in the diaspora aspiring to forge a counter coercion, El Hachimi chooses to address a number of
representational discourse to resist the embodiments of specific issues. First, she discusses the inequality in the
oppression in North of Morocco. She interrogates the very status of women in Moroccan society, with a particular
mechanics of despotism and the marital lows that are attention to the question of sexuality. Second, she deals with
transmitted through various symbiotic forms. El Hachimi the contours of the family and the social structures and the
follows the footsteps of Chandra Mohanty’s philosophy of bureaucratic paralysis, religious hypocrisy and government
opposition against racism, sexism, colonialism and potential corruption. By so doing, the author predisposes the
alliance and collaboration across divisionary boundaries. conditions under which Moroccan women live and in which
Mohanty notes that “the practice of solidarity foregrounds patriarchy descends.
communities of people who have chosen to work and fight While paving the way for her destructive
together. Reflective solidarity is crafted by an interaction representation of patriarchy, the author puts us in a real life
involving three persons: ‘I ask you to stand by me against a personalization of most Moroccan under fatherly-inherited
third.”9 Clearly, Mohanty’s argument revolves around the decree. She seems to sympathize with all the females in the
Western exoticizing of third world women but also it story and with ‘mother’ Mimoun’s wife in particular who
delineates the socio-cultural and political discourses of leads a pathetic gloomy life and who has to endure the
subordination that, according to her, will be mitigated and absurdity, disorder and brutality of her husband. In both the
eradicated through collaborative international efforts. homeland and the diaspora, Mimoun’s mother, as most
The Moroccan regularity of oppression and women of the Rif village, were seen slaves rather than wives
inequalities are a legacy of both the existing cultural or mothers. “By now grandmother was quite used to hearing
structures and colonial system of domination. As such, The herself rebuked like this” 10 as if to say disgrace was part of
Last Patriarch can be approached as a postcolonial text that village women’s lives. Grandmother’s life will be even
handles issues of identity and immigration that are recently worse with the birth of her first son since she will drop into
the backbone of academic debate. El Hachimi’s novel, an all-encompassing scenario of anxiety. While she was
narrated from the perspective of Mimoun’s daughter, recalls delivering him, her midwife prophesies the dilemma she is
Mimouna’s birth, childhood and adolescence that are based getting into; “a bad omen, daughter when children are born
on the privileges of patriarchal culture that strengthens without pain. If they do not hurt when re born, they ‘ll hurt
men’s power over women. El Hachimi constructs two you the rest of your life.”11To reflect her judgments towards

8Ibid., 10 Najat EL Hachimi, The Last Patriarch (London:

p. 5.
9Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Feminism Without Serpent’s Tail press, 2010), p.7.
Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity (United 11 Ibid., p. 6.

States : Duke Uniersity Press, 2004), p. 7.

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Moroccan patriarchy, social and religious hypocrisy, El her few days after their marriage preventing her from going
Hachimi exhibits the way masculinist culture gives males out of his household. When mother happens to be out of her
many privileges that are sanctioned for female counterpart. house, Mimoun becomes furious about, “what did I tell you?
By virtue of his masculinity, Mimoun exploits these Doesn’t’ what I say count? And mother head was already
privileges. For instance; Mimoun has total freedom to on the croon” 14 the rate of physical, oral and psychological
exercise his sexuality with women who offer themselves to abuse increased dramatically when Mimoun’s daughter was
him in the village, the city and in Spain while loses mind born, the result of which he suspects that his wife betrayed
only to imagine that his sister wants to accompany a boy to him with his uncle and he loses trust in her ever. When his
the city. family joined him in Catalonia, violence reached its extreme
We’ll go to the city, I’ll cover you in jewels of scale as Mimoun deals with everything with violence
gold, we’ll go to the city, she didn’t’ see him “mother always says she can’t remember what instrument
standing himself to kick the living daylights out of he used or how he heats he”15
her. He caught her by surprise and pushed her so By providing these lively accounts of the lives of
hard that her face hit the ground and whenever she women under traditional beliefs, El Hachimi aspires to
tried to get up he knocked her back down again. 12 criticize the destructive rule of the patriarch ideology that
As the song indicates, the city is a zone of dominated Arab region and even recycled and perpetuated
liberation that every girl in the village dreams to go to. in the diaspora. Perhaps, she wants to answer Merniss’s
However, in such a patriarchal culture, girls dreams must interrogation of “why dose patriarchy assumes the guise of
not go beyond marriage and the household as the dream of legality in Arab countries, whereas in the developed
liberation threatens the family’s honor. In most traditional countries it is acknowledged that its very structure is
societies, men’s and the family’s honor is related the incompatible with the aspiration of democracy.” 16 To El
chastity of their daughters and in the case of Mimoum, his Hachimi, it is essential for women to mitigate the violence
honor will only be tarnished if one of family female relative and victimization preyed upon them to channel
loses face. While obsessed with the honor of his sister, and heterogeneous modes of empowerment that trespass
later with his wife he allows himself to enjoy many sexual geographical territories to build a more tolerant and
intercourses with women in the village. After his marriage peaceful societies based on mutual respect. El Hachimi’s
was arranged and he got back from Spain, he returns back intention of recreating the antiquity of patriarchy is carried
to his mistress Fatima who he used to plant his seed in. He by two main characters; Mimoun whom she represents as a
endeavored to know whether his fiancée is still loyal to him failure patriarch and his daughter as a revolutionary
and that no gossip of her honor resonates in the village. character who will put an end to her father’s authority.
Asking Fatima while having sex with her she said, For the time being, the aim is to analyze the way
What the hell do I care about your blockier, Mimoun fails to be a prototypical father figure in the sense
Mimoun, don’t you know that girl’s more like that the author limelight the deficiencies, the vulnerability
slaves than wife? But I’ve not heard any scandal and the proclivity of the character whose mouthpiece
about her, although right now I’d love to be able to discloses his refusal of his ancestor’s paradigms of
tell you I have, she continued as she let him lift her masculinity. El Hachimi’s familiarity with Moroccan
skirt up in that secluded corner. 13 culture and the rhetoric of representation in male centered
literature enables her to forge a counter representational
As far as domestic and gender-based violence is concerned,
discourse to confront and defy all forms of oppression.
El Hachimi describes Moroccan women’s situation from a
Throughout her politics of representation, the author uses a
factual perspective through the character of “mother” and
deadpan sarcasm to dramatize the fall of the last patriarch.
daughter. She gives images of violence to delineate the fact
Mimoun is, first, introduced as “son of Driouach, son of
of the tradition gendered structure that dominates most of
Allal, son of Mohammed, son of Mohand, son of Bouziane
Arab-Islamic societies. El Hachimi sketches incidents of
who we shall simply call Mimoun,”17 an indication of his
violence mainly domestic one. Mimoun proved to be a
disidentification.
typical tyrannical character against his wife. He starts biting

12 16Zahia
Ibid., p. 45. Smail Salh, Gender and violence in Islamic
13 Ibid., p. 45. Societies: Patriarchy, Islamism and Politics in the Middle East
14 Ibid., p. 96 and North Africa (Great Britain : CPI Antony Rowe, 2013), p.
15 Ibid., p. 110. 61.
17 Ibid., p. vii .

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The character of Mimoune, conversely, does not represented as a male who excels only in bringing disgrace
resemble his ancestors neither in their attitudes of manhood and destruction to people around him. The protagonist’s
nor in their beliefs in the cultural privilege given to men like deviation from the norms of masculinity is immeasurable
himself. From his childhood up to his adolescent, Mimoun since he could not comply with gender roles neither in his
leads an unpleasant life and always in search for his destiny homeland nor in the receiving land Catalonia. To put it
and identity. Perhaps, being abused by his father “his father otherwise, when his mother, the primary gatekeeper of
warned his sister, his mother and finally reached the end of patriarchal in the family, arranged his marriage with a
tether, threaten the little”. 18 Mimoun’s life was extremely cousin who has been properly trained to be totally
influenced as his father kept trying to inculcate in him submissive to the manipulation and abuse of men, Mimoun
norms of responsibility as the epitome of patriarchal decided to head toward Spain still looking for his destiny
authority. Mimoun insisted on maintaining his own personal and economic promotion. In Catalonia, he could not control
interpretation of masculinity. Mimoun who “was dark- his lasciviousness and started approaching his boss’s wife
skinned like so many baby boys who are born ugly” 19, a “who started to show up in the final stages of the building
reference to the ugliness of patriarchy, fails the traditional of her new house” 24. Mimoun whose knowledge of cultural
standards of masculinity (emotional, weaker, more wicked, differences is feeble imagined that his boss “probably
hard-working, patient, and obedient) First, out of envy, he couldn’t satisfy her […] and he must have plotted to leave
killed his little brother (rival number one) because he took him alone with his wife”25 . Mimoun thought of taking
all the attention of the sisters and mother. Later on, when revenge from the exploitive boss who employs Mimoun for
Mimoun enters school, he quits quickly as he becomes long hours. After the sexual encounter between the Western
irritated by having to get up early every morning, going to lady and the Moorish guy, Mimoun discovered that “in
go school and the teacher’s biting. Despite his father’s Spain they don’t want people who spry petrol over the house
eagerness and insistence that “his first-born son to devote who employed them” 26 the result of which Mimoun was
himself to medicine as at least one of his children could expelled back to his provincial capital “empty-handed on
abandon life in the fields and enter a profession as the event of his wedding” 27
respectable as that of doctors”20 Mimoun drops out of The great patriarch of the novel cannot handle a
school leaving no choice to his father but to send him to single matter without the help of his family specifically his
work in house construction where he would fail again. older sister who say that when she saw him come in,
Grandfather sent Mimoun to work for Rahj Mimoun started crying like a child”28 . She helped him to
Moussa, Mimoun fails to prove his abilities as a man as he recover his health while his father had “to sell some land
could not endure the difficulties of the duty assigned to him. […] to pay for the dowry”.29 The patriarch of the novel has
He fought with Rahj Moussa’s children bringing lots of always been an unbearable burden on his family, as he could
shame to his father who “must have felt embarrassed face to not depend on himself. He could never accomplish a single
face with the man who’d trusted him and allowed his son to task he was destined to do even when it comes to performing
work with his two boys.”21 Extremely irritated and his marital duty as a real man. He felt extremely confused
embarrassed, his father returns home for Mimoun, who in front of his inexperienced wife in their first marriage
locked himself in his room and refuses to come out for fear night. Highly embarrassed, “he opened the door and said
his father kills him. The grandfather broke into Mimoun’s come in; I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t do it
room to be surprised that Mimoun “brought a tightly sister, I can’t” 30 he could not show everybody he was a real
clenched fist from behind his back and hit his father’s nose man and his wife was a woman you rarely found
as hard as he could.” 22 a son hitting his father has been the nowadays”31 ¨.
most unspeakable deed that, “was to turn the natural order It should be noted that Mimoun is met by different
of things upside down”23 episodes of failure and spends his entire life looking for his
It should be noted that the discourse of masculinity destiny, selfhood and a shore of identity to settle in. This
has been demolished by the character of Mimoun as he is attempt corresponds to his great sense of insecurity in the

18 Ibid., p.7. 25 Ibid., p.74.

19 Ibid., p.11. 26 Ibid., p. 79.
20 Ibid., p.20. 27 Ibid., p.80.

21 Ibid., p. 34. 28Ibid., p. 82.

22 Ibid., p.36. 29 Ibid., p.87.

23 Ibid., p.36. 30 Ibid., p.91.

24 Ibid., p. 74. 31 Ibid., p. 92.

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family and in borderland. His family in general and father that of her motherland but she portrayed a revolutionary
in particular could not accept him the way he is and character who opposes domination wherever it is and who
attempted to inculcate in him the standards of masculinity occupies an ambivalent state and liminal position to
and made of him another great patriarch. In the borderland, construct her won hybrid identity. El Hachimi, scrutinizes
additionally, Mimoun meets humiliation and rejection, as he every aspect of patriarchal culture and explores the extent
could not adapt to the new culture. Being torn between his to which Arab women are made invisible, submissive and
father’s wish, cultural prerogative and compulsion and his marginalized from domains of life because of the cultural
own interpretation of himself, Mimoun decided that his system and she attempted to change this history.
destiny is stay in Catalonia definitively “people said By mapping out the general conditions of women’s
Mimoun would never come back, that he ‘d ‘abandoned or life under patriarchal rule and the way this system of
‘abdicated his role as head of our family as well as a son, oppression limits women’s abilities and increases their
brother or father”. 32 However, the young patriarch repeats marginalization, El Hachimi reflects her own feminist
the violent behavior on his wife and daughter after they join consciousness and deep understanding of the cultural
him in Spain. After they had married, they immigrate to aspects that foster and encourage stereotypes on Moroccan
Barcelona where the marriage goes sour due to Mimoun’s women. It appears clear that El Hachim is more concerned
excessive jealousy, which he alleviates with the use of with rise of feminist consciousness in Morocco. She has
increasing brutality. In Catalonia, Mimoun begins to seek provided an analytical study of the Moroccan socio-cultural
out a series of lovers while he forces his wife to remain in network which has allowed her to go beyond tracing origins
the house, a pattern that recalls the behavior of other to analyzing the play of power exercised by patriarchy and
patriarchs in previous migration narratives. It is safe to say the active strategies to combat this power. El Hachimi
that El Hashimi’s sarcastic style and the ironic tone she used succeeded in constructing a character who refuses to be
while portraying the life of the last patriarch proved to be an another patriarch and whose daughter celebrates her
effective mechanism of resistance. freedom from all the cultural chains of Arab Muslim
society. The second part of the novel revolves around the
III. CONCLUSION process of immigration and Moroccan women’s experience
of relocation, adaptation to a foreign environments and
El Hachimi uses her creative imagining to recreate
pursuits of liberation. While dealing with Moroccan
the history of patriarchy and champion feminist’s ideals.
women’s alienation, it seems that the author fosters a radical
Her portrayal of her and other female characters as
way to destabilize the patriarchal thinking and creates an
oppressed is mainly meant to make the invisible visible and
alternative to change the patriarchal law, perception of
later, in the second part of her novel, El Hachimi gives us a
women bodies and sexuality. In the following section, the
different portrayal of her female protagonist (Mimoun’s
focus is centered on the representation of women as agents
daughter) as revolutionary character who seeks liberation
of change whose obstinacy defies the patriarchal dominance
and whose scopes of resistance go beyond patriarchal
that are maintained by male characters.
dominance. This, in fact, reveals the power of art and
literature in generating a historical, a social, a culture and
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