The Desert Space: The Feminine Self, the Writer, and the Anti-Place—A Reading of the Narrative Achievement of the Rebellious Novelist MalikaMokadam as an Example

Abstract

This study aims to explore the desert as an unparalleled realm and an endless narrative space, serving as inspiration for poets, novelists, and Sufis enamored with tales. Grounded in this perspective, writing embodies the infinite, inconceivable, and unfamiliar aspects of the desert—where worlds open up to the wonders of life, death, love, hatred, affinity, opposition, movement, and stillness. Consequently, the Algerian novelist turns to the desert as a mysterious entity, treating it as a symbolic and aesthetic space, connecting it to various human and aesthetic dimensions.The desert has left a strong imprint in the works of the novelist MalikaMokadam, where the desert space manifests as a narrative world open to adventure, experimentation, and rebellion. This narrative structure is entwined with autobiography and narrative disclosure in the journey of the feminine self, recounting the moment of rupture between 'there' and 'here.' The narrative reflects her struggles with feelings of frustration and aversion towards the barren and isolated desert environment, compelling its inhabitants to oppose the place and attempt to escape, aspiring for emancipation and yearning for freedom