Postcolonial Manifestations of the Positive Female Characters in Naguib al-Kilani’s Novel A’dhra’ Djakarta: A Sociological Study

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD student in Arabic language and literature, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr , Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran

3 Associate Professor, department of Arabic language and literature, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran

Abstract

Investigation of literature and literary works, especially in the field of criticism, is associated with interdisciplinary research and specifically with the science of sociology; this is due to the importance of literature as a reflector of social problems. Sociological studies of literature can modify the cultural structure of society, solve its problems and transform it in various fields. On the other hand, we see that the novel, by having a prominent place in the expression of social issues, is distinguished from other literary forms and techniques. The Islamic novel is a literary genre that has tried to express the issues of the Muslim society, as this literature cannot be kept from addressing the important social issues of nations. For this reason, the Islamic literature is a committed, indicative and conscious literature of the evolution of human societies. Thus, the Islamic novel has addressed the issue of resistance, and portrayed the sufferings of the oppressed people living under the yoke of colonialism. Naguib al-Kilani, a pioneer of the contemporary Islamic novel, has paid special attention to the female characters in his novels, especially in the novel A’dhra’ Djakarta, and as a Muslim novelist, he has used most examples of female characters in his novels to emphasize on the role and attitude of women regarding the issue of resistance. This article, using a descriptive-analytical method and based on the sociological analysis of the novel, addresses the positive aspects of female character in the novel A’dhra’ Djakarta and indicates that Naguib al-Kilani focuses on three aspects of the female character, that of heroism, resistance and martyrdom, and portrays a sublime status of Muslim women to encourage people of the colonized countries to face the enemy.
The field of post-colonial theory relates to a specific historical period that followed the demise of colonialism, or the period that followed the political independence obtained by countries that were under foreign colonialism. This theory uses a variety of modern critical approaches, including the renaissance of cultural studies and feminist studies. It benefits from all critical approaches, especially post-structuralism and postmodernism. The term post-colonialism came with the publication of Edward Said’s book Orientalism. The French writer Madame de Stael was the first to point out the importance of the relationship between literature and society, and between literature and politics. The issue of ideology is another topic that Goldman refers to in his research on the sociology of literature, as he sees that the creator of literary works is not only their author, but is also the ideology belonging to a particular social class.
In this article, we have focused on two topics related to the novel A’dhra’ Jakarta. The first topic is related to the study of the features of positive characters in the novel, including the heroine of the novel “Fatima”, and her political and revolutionary activities, and other feminist personalities participating in this jihad, and to shed light on the features of these novelists, we analyze their most important social and political activities, which continue their struggle until the last moment of life to achieve complete freedom for their homeland and people. The second topic concerns the effects of post-colonialism.
Al-Kilani was interested in the issue of resistance, as a distinguished literature, and he dealt with it in the novel A’dhra’ Jakarta from two sides. The first is drawing the features of feminist personalities, and focusing on the important position of women in Islamic society, which is the participation of women in the most important social issues and in the fate of their homeland and future, and Islamic literature confirms it in various areas of peoples’ lives. The second is to express the effects of communist colonialism on the different levels of Indonesian society. In his novel, al-Kilani was concerned with the issue of complete equality of women and men and their social and political rights, and the nature of communism, its ideological goals, and its opportunist policies that oppose Islamic teachings. On the other hand, he used the figure of Fatima, as a militant woman whose Islamic features the author has employed to express his beliefs about the functions of women in their social life and to emphasize the extent of their importance in the resistance and steadfastness in the face of manifestations of colonialism and injustice. Al-Kilani has benefited from the method of preaching and guidance in the sayings of this female character, and he has used her Islamic features and portrayed them in his novels to emphasize the role of women in global revolutions, and he has wanted to say that the role of women in the resistance movement is no less than that of men. According to his Islamic ideology and his revolutionary beliefs, he has wanted, through the features of these positive personalities, to point out two things: first, that revolutions around the world are proceeding on one line, which is the union of the different classes of people; and second, that women can do great things and help men to continue the path towards freedom and high goals.

Keywords


جلوه‌های پسااستعماری شخصیت‌های مثبت زن

در رمان «عذرا جاکارتا» نجیب الکیلانی

نعمت الله مقصودي *

محمدجواد پورعابد **، ناصر زارع ***، رسول بلاوي ****

 

چکیده

بررسی‌های جامعه‌شناختی ادبیات می‌تواند ساختار فرهنگی جامعه را اصلاح و مشکلات آن را حل کرده و آن را در زمینه‌های مختلف دگرگون سازد. از سویی دیگر ملاحظه می‌کنیم که رمان  با داشتن جایگاه بارزی در بیان موضوعات اجتماعی، از سایر دانش‌ها و فنون ادبی متمایز شده است. رمان اسلامی نیز یکی از انواع ادبی است که به بیان موضوعات جامعه اسلامی همت گماشته است؛ زیرا نمی‌توان این ادبیات را از پرداختن به موضوعات اجتماعی مهم ملت‌ها به دور داشت. بنابراین، رمان اسلامی به موضوع پایداری پرداخت و درد‌های مردم ستمدیده‌ای که زیر یوغ استعمار زندگی می‌کنند را به تصویر کشید. نجیب الکیلانی پیشگام رمان معاصر اسلامی، به شخصیت زن در رمان‌هایش و به ویژه رمان عذراء جاکرتا توجه ویژه‌ای نشان داده است و به عنوان یک رمان‌نویس اسلامی، أغلب نمونه‌های شخصیت زن را در رمان‌هایش به‌کار برده است تا با خوانشی تأکید‌آمیز به بیان نقش زن و موضع وی در قبال موضوع مقاومت بپردازد. این جستار با روشی توصیفی – تحلیلی و با توجه به تحلیل جامعه‌شناختی رمان، به بررسی جلوه‌های استعمار و پایداری بر ویژگی‌های مثبت شخصیت زن در رمان عذراء جاکارتا پرداخته و بیانگر این است که نجیب الکیلانی با تمرکز بر سه نمونه از جلوه‌های شخصیت زنِ مبارز، پایدار و شهید، جایگاهی والا از زن مسلمان را به منظور تشویق مردم کشورهای استعمار شده در رویارویی با دشمن به تصویر کشیده است.

کلید واژه‌ها: بررسی جامعه‌شناختی،رمان اسلامی، پسااستعمار، ادبیات پایداری، زن، نجیب الکیلانی، عذراء جاکرتا.

 



* نعمت الله مقصودي، دانشجوی دکتری رشتۀ زبان و ادبیات عربی، دانشگاه خلیج فارس، بوشهر، إيران

maghsoudinm@gmail.com

** محمدجواد پورعابد، دانشیار گروه زبان و ادبیات عربی، دانشگاه خلیج فارس، بوشهر، إيران (نویسندۀ مسئول)  m.pourabed@pgu.ac.ir

*** ناصر زارع، دانشیار گروه زبان و ادبیات عربی، دانشگاه خلیج فارس، بوشهر، إيران  nzare@pgu.ac.ir

**** رسول بلاوي، دانشیار گروه زبان و ادبیات عربی، دانشگاه خلیج فارس، بوشهر، إيران  r.ballawy@pgu.ac.ir

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