Western representations of the Muslim woman : from termagant to odalisque / Mohja Kahf.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kahf, Mohja, 1967-

Series:

ACLS Humanities E-Book.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Muslim women.

Women in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (207 p. ) 1 ill. ;

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Veiled, secluded, submissive, oppressed—the "odalisque" image has held sway over Western representations of Muslim women since the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. Yet during medieval and Renaissance times, European writers portrayed Muslim women in exactly the opposite way, as forceful queens of wanton and intimidating sexuality. In this illuminating study, Mohja Kahf traces the process through which the "termagant" became an "odalisque" in Western representations of Muslim women. Drawing examples from medieval chanson de geste and romance, Renaissance drama, Enlightenment prose, and Romantic poetry, she links the changing images of Muslim women to changes in European relations with the Islamic world, as well as to changing gender dynamics within Western societies.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

One INTRODUCTION

Two THE MUSLIM WOMAN IN MEDIEVAL TEXTS

Three THE MUSLIM WOMAN IN RENAISSANCE TEXTS

Four THE MUSLIM WOMAN FROM ENLIGHTENMENT TO ROMANTICISM

Five CONCLUSION

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [189]-195) and index.

ISBN:

9780292799646

0292799640

OCLC:

45727935