Saudi Women’s Status in the Social Novel Ibrahim Al-Nassir as a Case Study

Abstract

The Saudi social novel devotes considerable attention to women as a theme, analyzing and debating several issues concerning them. This article will discuss the status of Saudi women in social novels. The article will look at the reason for this interest in women’s issues. Besides, it will examine the factors that lie behind the weak position of women in Saudi society. Then, it will provide three images of women in the Saudi social novel that symbolize the transformations in Saudi women's status and that appear in al-Nassir’s novels: traditional women, modern women, and radical women. With regards to the first of these types, they do not play an active role in the progress of the fictional events, reflecting the passivity of the role they play in real life. In contrast, their modern and radical counterparts play a central role in the narrative. Finally, this article will deal with the Arab Women's Liberation Movement, which has influenced some of al-Nassir's fiction characters.