Lamine Saidi sets forth a national alternative plan in his novel ,The Women’s City.

Lamine Saidi sets forth a national alternative plan in his novel ,The Women’s City.

Written by professor and critic Hamadi Al Halawi.

The Women’s City is a novel written by Lamine Saidi,an Arabic Language and Literature teacher who worked as a newsman in written media and is now a member in The Tunisian Writers Union.He has got a narrative record including four novels ; Hustle of the Sightless (2018),Last Exile (2020),Thorn Shadow (2020),and The Women’s City (2021)which contains 140pages.This novel is translated into English by Professor Souad Rebai.
It is divided into four chapters ; Safwan’s Journey,Maamun Turns into Myrian,Abuda meets Safwan and A Penalty for No Crime.The narrative is partly based the description of ache and cruelty before,during and after 2011which refers to what we call Arab Spring Revolutions and its painful impact on Tunisia.The narrative approach in this novel is set up on the conflict between two contrasted sides ;the genuine values versus corruption.In fact there are many characters who embody righteousness in the novel and dream of “spreading humanism,love and purity in the world” ,but other characters connote oppression ,anarchy,impoverishment and horror.Safwan basically belongs to the first category.He escapes from his home in the pursuit of “a land of humanism and love ,free from maps ,tents,poverty and homelessness” Fatima,his wife is an author and artist who stands for kindness and genuine manners.Actually,the novelist is a land lover who “draws a wonderful home with beauty ,freedom and goodness”(page 32).
On the other hand،”Abuda is a state spy watching the people interested in politics ,those authors and philosophers who went beyond the authorized limits of thought”(page 25).Besides,Rabab ,his wife who was a stranger from the borthel of The Arab Medina used to call smugglers every night to share with them money and goods.Her basic motto was”science and culture are a kind of madness if not based on wealth pursuit”.
Indeed, these two contrasting poles lead to serious conflicts between the ideals of freedom and equality and the actual life of violence,segregation and poverty,which culminates in horrible cases of murder,suicide and madness…It is unfortunately the climax for idealistic scholars resisting state injustice and alienation…
The Women’s City is an echo-circled novel since it begins with Safwan ٫the main character saying:” I will leave my town to a land where none of my family and acquaintances know,a place dwelled by humans and where palm trees ,wheat and grapes grow with no pillars’.Then ,the novel ends up with this same statement of Safwan.Furthermore,there is an abundance of events and exclusive presence of the wise narrator ‘s viewpoints in the novel.Thus,the novelist implicitly expresses his instructive tendency through narrating,for instance,the novelist’s perspectives about the issue of women…He says:”woman makes many things in life and sets up a homeland which looks like her wonderful heart” ” woman loves a man crazily but she keeps steady and greatly patient”(page16).
He adds :”and not only were the Democratic Women before the Municipal Theater defending women’s rights for justice and equality,but also claiming for human rights to dignity “.
Indeed,The Women’s City is allegorically loaded with the dream of making of women potential rulers for the welfare of societies.Actually, Nawal assertively says:”we intend to go to England to plan for a national program and then come back to rule our homeland with justice and equality for all people here” ” will women govern?”,inquired Fatima.”surely,they will do”,replied Nawal.Then ,Safwan said:”it will be the city of women then” ” oh , yea,but it will be after decades”(page 140),asserted Fatima.?
Not only is women’s right to equality in ruling a major issue in this novel ,but also many hot topics in this changing society are highlighted by Lamine Saidi,such as,political corruption,ethics decline,educational and cultural windling,tyranny and torture..
In a word ,this novel goes beyond explicit criticism of reality by suggesting a potential plan for Arab society through dreams…