Worlds Within Words: A Dialogue on War and Feminism Between Etel Adnan and Virginia Woolf

Abstract

In this thesis, I juxtapose Etel Adnan’s Sitt Marie Rose (1977) with Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse (1927) and Mrs Dalloway (1925), starting from two critical terms: war and feminism. These modernist novels, coming from different times and places, offer fresh insights into Global Modernism, a growing field in literary studies. The study examines their literary style, content, and context, highlighting their contributions to modernist literature. Key questions addressed include the nature of modernism and feminism as singular or plural concepts, and how terms like war and feminism circulate across time and space. Utilizing Etel Adnan’s archives from the AUB Special Collection, the research offers new interpretations, especially of Sitt Marie Rose. The second chapter explores Adnan and Woolf’s distinct portrayals of war, while the third chapter delves into their feminist narratives, uncovering both visible and invisible feminist themes. This thesis transcends a mere comparison of “marginalized” versus “canonized” author, instead it focuses on how war and feminism are integrated into modernist narratives from different times and places. This approach aims to reveal the varied expressions of these critical terms within the Global Modernism framework, emphasizing the diverse experiences and perspectives in modernist literature, and leveling the playing ground between less-known authors, like Adnan, and extensively researched authors like Woolf.