The presentation of the Iranian woman. A critical reflection of Azar Nafisi's novel "Reading Lolita in Tehran" (2004) and Azadeh Moaveni's "Lipstick Jihad" (2005)

Scientific Essay , 2016 , 42 Pages

Literature - Middle East

Azadeh Moaveni' s novel "Lipstick Jihad" (2005) is a typical novel of female Muslim writers disposing of a Muslim and Western background. This (double) insight into two seemingly opposing worlds enables author and reader alike to get a deeper insight into Muslim characters who are often torn between these two extremes which many Muslim authors describe as a personal dilemma in form of a jihad. Jihad here is used it its basic meaning which corresponds a personal struggle based on a Muslim background (here the Iranian diasporic situation in the USA) which is accompanied by the nostalgia for and belonging to Iran as a homeland.

The hybrid which is a result from this and which is so typical for Muslim writing of the second generation in general is also reflected in "Reading Lolita in Tehran" (2004) the second novel analysed here. This 'hybrid condition' is strongly reflected in the personal, cultural and religious odyssey most Muslim characters experience. This especially goes for women since they are still portrayed in their inferior role.

The common basis of both novels can therefore be seen in the influence of the Iranian setting in general and the role of the Iranian Revolution and the emerging Iranian Republic in particular which both strongly shaped this nation and her inhabitants while also throwing light on the (mostly difficult) life in Iran.

It is also this specific situation of Iran which many female authors use as a setting which disposes of a dramatic background which is used as an underlying dramatic element for the narration as such.

Table of Contents

I. The background of Iranian writing ̶ a short postcolonial survey

II. Forms: Narratological Categories for the Analysis of the Genre
II.1 Islamic Spirituality and Transcendence
II.2 Identity Formation as one Central Problem of Islamic Writing
II.3 Identity as a Religious Matter: The Quest for the Meaning of Life
II.4 Failure
II.5 Powerlessness
II.6 The Quest for a Meaning of Life
II.7 Hybrid Description and Hybrid Identity under the Focus of Islam and Islamic Fundamentalism

III. Close Analysis: Reading Lolita in Tehran

IV. Outlook Reading Lolita in Tehran

V. Close Analysis: Lipstick Jihad (2005)

VI. Outlook: Lipstick Jihad

VII. Outlook

VIII. Bibliography

• Author: Dr. Matthias Dickert (Author)
• Publication Year: 2016
• Pages: 42
• Catalog Number: V338396
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668278394
• ISBN (Book): 9783668278400
• Language: English
• Tags: iranian, azar, nafisi, reading, lolita, tehran, azadeh, moaveni, lipstick, jihad