“Ethics and Desire in
Contemporary Levantine Literature”
Kifah Hannah, Assistant Professor of
Arabic, Trinity College
A common theme in the lectures we’ve heard
throughout the semester is the suppression of desire. Although many modern
societies are progressively becoming more accepting and encouraging of the
expression of sexual desire, others remain firmly repressed. Although it may
seem trivial to the untrained eye, the societal and social norms of a
particular culture have a profound effect on what is accepted as healthy love.
Although one might be inclined to divide the eras of love into time periods,
the differences between geographic regions and cultures cause a strong division
in and of themselves.
We saw this principle in Halfaouine. However,
in the film we also saw a female character taking complete charge of her sexuality – and
refusing to be ashamed of it. This refusal to conform to societal standards is
reminiscent of the racy Levantine authors that Dr. Hannah spoke of. However,
the cultural differences depicted in Halfaouine seemed less pronounced than
those indicated by the general public reaction to the literature.
The dissimilarities Dr. Hannah emphasized
between European and Arabic cultures in terms of modesty did not seem all that
out of the ordinary – these are things we see on the news and read about in the
paper. However, I found the extent to which the cultures differ to be
surprising. It seems to me that the shame associated with an exotic dancing
career was especially overwhelming.
I was intrigued by the risqué pieces that Dr.
Hannah highlighted, particularly those written by women. Refusal to follow
societal standards is often met with negative sentiment, and the issue of
gender only goes to amplify this negative sentiment. In Arabic countries
especially, a ‘proper’ woman is expected to be modest, demure, and chaste. These authors not only acknowledged sexual
desire on a public forum, but also provided a descriptive explanation of the
activities and emotions it entails. This sort of broadcast went against the
grain in every sense, but the expression of these emotions is critical to the evolution
of the sexual and emotional spheres.
