Drawing on psychoanalytic and sociocultural theories of suicide and self-harm, it is argued here that
Hosna’s suicide in Salih’sSeason of Migration to the North(1969) and Aisha’s self-harm in Badr’s The
Eye of The Mirror (1994)delineate two psychological modes of the female protagonists' coping with
patriarchal oppression. While Aisha’s self-harm is therapeutic and cathartic, Hosna’s suicide is
revolutionary on societal levels. Although Aisha’s self-harm and Hosna’s suicide stem from the
patriarchal destructive practice of enforced marriage, the extremity and quality of each act elucidate
variances in their merits. While Aisha temporarily acts out her internal distress and communicates her
discontent by cutting off her hair, Hosna’s suicide inspires a feminist agenda based on self-esteem and
resistance and threatens the sovereignty of the whole patriarchal structure.

Title

Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies.

Publisher

Duke University Press

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

0.18

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

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Year

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Pages

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