The writing of trauma : catharsis and women’s subversion of patriarchy in Rabih Alameddine’s I, the divine and Zena el Khalil’s Beirut, I love you

Abstract

This thesis exposes the way in which Rabih Alameddine’s I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters (2001) and Zena el Khalil’s Beirut, I Love You (2009) intersect through their female characters. In the process of writing their memoirs, Sarah Nour el-Din and Zena el Khalil delineate war-torn Beirut society, the tragic events of 9-11 and their personal experiences of rape and-or sexual assault. By communicating these experiences, both characters allow for venues of articulation of women as marginalized anddeprived voices. Through their unconventional rebellious notion of the feminine, they defy societal norms and subvert the paradigm of patriarchy. The traumatic experiences of both characters require a process of catharsis, which although initiated through the writing of their memoirs, testimonies of sexual healing and transcendence, does not lead them to complete reconciliation with either the self or Beirut, as evident through the open endings of their novels. This thesis also attempts to highlightthat through their fragmented narratives, rebellion against social conventions, and acceptanceof the chaos of life, Sarah and Zena weave tales of identity that portray an internal war that haunts them eternally and obstructs them from being completely healed.